I want to be Someone Else
by DezPride
Summary: Harry Potter torn apart by the death of Sirius and being possessed by Voldemort, decided to strike out on his own, Independent of the leaders of the Light and Dark. A mysterious new friend, and a couple of old one follow him on his journey, New Secrets, New Powers. Are these friends they key to to Harry's ultimate goals. Teen and above.
1. Chapter 1

Harry stared down at the crumpled letter in his hand. Sirius wasn't even cold yet and already the Lawyers and Goblin's of Gringotts were summoning him to the reading of the last will and testament of one Sirius Black.

"_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_Our records indicate that last _Blah, Blah, Blah Sirius died, come collect his stuff Blah, Blah, Blah. _We request your presence on the 8th of July, 1997. We would be pleased to review the will and handle all the transferences and legal aspects of following out Mr. Black's last wishes. _Blah, Blah, Blah._ Please be present at our offices on the date indicated. Thank you for your consideration and please accept our condolences for your loss. _Blah, Blah, Blah.

_Sincerely,..._

That is as far as he had gotten before crumpling the note. In hindsight maybe he should have read the whole thing first. He really shouldn't be surprised he thought blearily. They would have known the moment he died. I am surprised they waited a whole week to send it. Harry glanced at the calendar, he had been back at the Dursley's for about six days.

"Wow, they waited a whole ten days, Hedwig." Since his exile back into the Muggle world, Harry had taken to talking to Hedwig more and more. Even though she was an owl, he felt that she understood more than more people.

He didn't really want Sirius's gold or his house. He wanted Sirius back. It wouldn't have bothered him quite so badly if that had been the only correspondence he had waiting for him when he returned from school. Unfortunately, it wasn't. He also had a very wordy message from the new Minister of Magic wishing for him to become the poster boy of the new war against Voldemort, as well as a series of condolences and platitudes from his many friends, teachers, and babysitters.

If he could have found the energy he would have told them all to go to hell, but he couldn't. He barely had the energy to open the many letters. So far he had opened four, the main two from the Ministry and Gringotts, one from Dumbledore reminding him to stay at the Dursley's and a combined letter from his two best friends. They had recently decided to take their relationship a step further and are now officially together. They figured he would want to share in their new found happiness despite his recent tragedy.

The letter had definitely been written by Hermione. He felt sick and couldn't finish it. He had read about the stages of grief; Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Acceptance. However, he was past Denial, Anger, and sadness. He had moved on to numb, whatever stage that was. He knew there were so many things he needed to do, so many people counting on him, he was the Boy-Who-Lived, the Chosen one, Harry Potter.

There was only one problem, he didn't want to be Harry Potter. He wanted nothing to do with him or any of his responsibilities. Why should he have to fight Voldemort. Why should he be faced with the decision to kill or be killed. It wasn't fair, he knew life wasn't fair but this on top of everything else was the final straw. The carefully constructed mask he had work all his life was cracking under the pressure. Little fissures had been appearing since he learned he was a wizard. Cedric's death put the first large crack in it, and every hurtful insult and friend who turned on him had only made the gap wider. Sirius' death had split the mask in two, the prophecy caused spider web cracks. These letters were the final push.

His mask was completely useless. He had no time to rebuild it, everything was moving forward. It had taken years at the Dursley's to create it, the two months before school would not be sufficient to put it back.

'Oh look, another letter.'

The owl that landed in his window was almost as beautiful as his own. A regal looking eagle owl. It handed him the letter and settled in to await his reply. Harry didn't recognize the owl. It didn't have a seal like the owls from the Ministry and Gringotts. No one he knew had an eagle owl, except Malfoy, and this wasn't his owl.

Harry felt something he hadn't in a long time. Curiosity. His name was formally written on the front, in a handwriting also unfamiliar to him.

_Dear Mister Harry James Potter,_

_ I am currently a stranger, unknown to you. I would like to change that. My name is Rosaleen Hewlin. I am sure you don't recognize my name, and I can think of no reason why you should. However, my father was Declan Black. A name I am sure you do recognize as my nephew is your Godfather, the now late Sirius Black. I am sorry for your loss. _

_ I had recently heard of both yourself and Mr. Black though a mutual acquaintance Mrs. Apolline Delacour, mother of Fleur Delacour. Whom is known quite well by yourself. I quickly fire-called my great-niece Andromeda, and she confirmed everything, as well as telling me that Dumbledore has sent you back to your relatives, something she considered unwise. She seems to have a low opinion of both Dumbledore and your relatives. I am not one of Dumbledore's people, but I do know a bit about what is going on in his circles. _

_ I had written to Sirius several times since he broke out of Azkaban, but I never received a reply. My last letter returned unopened. I don't know if he didn't get the letters or wanted nothing to do with me but I do know that he named you his heir. I failed Sirius when I didn't help him when he was disowned, or thrown into Azkaban. I never had the opportunity to fix those mistakes but I hope you will allow me to help you in his place. If you decide you are willing to meet me, send me a letter with the time and place you would like to meet and I will be there no matter what._

_Sincerely,_

_Rosaleen Hewlin_

Another member of Sirius' family. Since she is in contact with Andromeda Tonks, she must also have been disowned by the Blacks. I know I shouldn't contact her or leave the house but maybe she can help me since no one else seems to want to.

Harry quickly pulled out a clean sheet of parchment and a quill.

_Dear Mrs. Hewlin,_

_I would be delighted to meet you. I will be in Diagon Alley on July 8th. I have a 10:30 appointment at Gringotts but will meet you at Ollivander's as soon as my business concludes._

_Regards,_

_Harry Potter_

He gave the letter to the waiting owl and watched him fly away. A plan slowly forming in his mind. The longer he sat there the crazier Harry's idea seemed, and the more determined he was to do it.

"Hedwig, I need you to take a letter to Hogwarts, I need you to take it straight to Dobby, make sure only he receives it. No one else must be aware of it okay, girl?"

Harry quickly wrote a short note to Dobby and then got ready for bed. There was nothing left to do but wait.


	2. Chapter 2

A few hours later Harry woke to someone poking him in the side. He reached for his glasses and came face to face with two very large eyes and a small elf beaming up at him.

"Mister Harry Potter needs Dobby's help. I am so happy to help Harry Potter. What does the great wizard Harry Potter need Dobby to do?"

'Waaaaaay to early for this' Harry thought rubbing his face and sitting up.

"Hello Dobby, did you bring Winky." At Dobby's furiously nodding head Harry continued. "No one saw you, they don't know you left and came here?"

"Oh no Harry Potter, Sir. No one knows."

"Good. Now I need to know if your magic is always detectable by the Ministry or anyone looking for signs of magic?"

"No, Mister Potter, not usually. Dobby had to use a special spell that one time to make the Ministry notice him. Bad Dobby! Bad! Bad!" He was quickly hitting himself with Harry's potion text. Harry wrestled the book away from him and pulled them face to face.

"Dobby. I want you and Winky to come work for me. I will continue to pay you and you can have your days off and wear whatever you want but I need you to help me, to keep my secrets, tell no one what I am up to. I need you to be loyal only to me, can you do that?"

"Oh! Dobby can do that. Dobby wants to do that! Dobby loves Harry Potter and wants to help him." The elf's ears began to drop and his eyes filled with tears. "But Dobby can't speak for Winky, and Dobby does work for Mister Dumbledore. What would Dobby do if Master Headmaster ordered Dobby to tell?" He began to sob loudly.

"Winky will help Harry Potter! Winky doesn't want paying or off-days though, Winky would like to be a good and proper house elf again, Please Harry Potter! Winky wouldn't have to listen to Master Dumbledore then!"

"What does that mean Winky? That you want to be enslaved again? Hermione would kill me if she knew about this, but it can't be helped I need total loyalty."

"Bond to Dobby too!"

"Okay. How do I do it."

"All Master Harry Potter has to say is that he accepts Winky and Dobby into his families service."

"I, Harry James Potter, take Winky and Dobby into the service of my family."

All three glowed with green and gold lights. Harry could feel the instant change, both Dobby and Winky were in tears, smiling up at Harry with a freighting devotion. Since they both had bonded to Harry he didn't need to worry about anyone finding out his secrets.

"I need to go to Gringotts tomorrow and I need it to look like I haven't left. Can one of you take me there without anyone knowing and can the other do my chores and make it seem like someone is home?"

"Winky will do the chores, I will hide from the ones watching outside and make it seem like Harry Potter is very busy in the house."

"I can take Harry Potter to the Bank. No one will ever know we left the Dursleys. "

Harry passed the remainder of the day finishing his chores that needed to be done outside like painting the fence and shed, along with all the landscaping so that Winky wouldn't need to do anything outside where one of the Order members might see her. He was totally exhausted by the time he finished and was immensely surprised when Winky had not only fixed dinner for the Dursley's but had made him all his favorites and left them on his desk.

Harry took a shower after he ate and fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillows. Morning came far too soon and the next thing he knew Dobby was shaking him away and Winky was floating in a tray. After a quick breakfast, Harry hurried though his morning routine and was quickly on his way to Gringotts courtesy of Dobby's apparating skills.

Harry quickly made his way to Gringotts with Dobby on his heels. He was directed to an very nice office by a surly looking Goblin who perked up noticeably upon hearing Harry's name.

When he soon joined by a nicely dressed Goblin who waved him impatiently into a chair. Harry took a seat on the left and motioned to Dobby to take the one on the right. Harry had warned Dobby to follow directions without question and to not speak unless Harry told him to because they didn't know how much they could trust the Goblins. Dobby sat with a minimum of hesitation and ignored the look of surprise that quickly flashed across the Goblin's face.

"Mister Potter, you have come to review the will and testament of the late Sirius Black. " He slid a lengthy paper over to Harry, who quickly read over the legal jargon before focusing back on the Goblin called Snap-tooth. "As you can see all is legally in order. All that remains if for you to sign off on his final wishes, the Bank will see to the distribution of those assets to the intended recipients.

Harry read over the list. Galleons to Andromeda, Tonks, the Weasleys and Lupin. A few trifles to the Weasley twins and Ron. Some jewels to Hermione and Ginny. Everything else was left to Harry, even number 12, though Sirius did request that he allow the Order to continue using it.

"Mister Snap-tooth, I understand that I am not allowed access to the main Potter vault until I am of age, but I was wondering if I might be allowed to look at it. Maybe remove some photos and any documents my parents may have left behind. I would also like to combine the Potter and Black vaults into one. I don't wish for any other "Blacks" to be able to access it, if you catch my meaning.

The Goblin smiled nastily. "I do indeed Mister Potter. I would even offer some advice. As the heir to the last remaining Black, you hold absolute power of the estate, and all the estate that was removed by pervious Blacks. Should any prove to be unsavory, you could in fact disown them, and all holding that belonged to the Blacks would be returned to you, even if those Blacks were married and no longer using the name. Once you reach your majority, of course. That is when you are considered the legitimate heir."

Harry took a minute to process this. He wondered if that meant exactly what he thought it did.

"In any case, I see no problem with you reviewing your parent's vault. I will accompany you, I will approve the items you wish to remove to that you have no issues with any Bank policies."

After the wild ride down to the main Potter vault, Harry shakily took steps towards it. Snap-tooth opened it by drawing intricate designs upon the door. When they stepped inside, Harry was blown away by the size of the vault, several times bigger than his trust vault and filled with an assortment of items, half of which he had no idea what they were.

Snap-tooth directed him to a small side room and took a seat against the wall after indicating the files and papers in the cabinets and on the desk. Harry looked through several documents mostly dry accounts of what was in the vault. However, he soon found what he was looking for in a series of books that turned out to be scrapbooks. He flipped though several, not recognizing any of the people until he reached the last one. This one contained his parents at school, their wedding, friends, and finally pictures of Harry. On the very last page, he found the pages he had been wishing to find. Snap-tooth quickly looked over the books before approving them and leading Harry out.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry quickly made his was from Gringotts to Ollivander's wand shop. When he stepped inside he almost ran into a woman who looked a great deal like Sirius. She had long black hair, aristocratic looking features and familiar grey eyes. While Sirius were often laughing when they looked into Harry's; Rosaleen's were sad and a little nervous.

"Hello Harry, it is nice to finally meet you in person." She smiled. It was genuine and made her friendlier looking. He couldn't help himself, he quickly smiled back and extended his hand in greeting_. _"I know you wanted to meet here but do you mind if we go somewhere for lunch so we can talk properly?"

Harry quickly agreed and held the door open for her, as she led him down the side streets of Diagon alley she kept up a string of unimportant topics, mostly about school and his interests. She had a unique accent, it was English, yet it had an over tone of French and something he couldn't quite place.

"I hope you don't mind that we are not eating at the Leaky Cauldron, but I have never enjoyed it and the food here is so much better."

"Anywhere is fine. I like eating at new places." Since he seldom every ate out in a restaurant he was surprised that statement was the truth. He looked around the place. It was small, nice, almost cozy. He didn't see the name but the smalls coming from the kitchen were wonderful.

They sat in the back corner and quickly placed their orders. Harry began to question how wise it would be to trust this woman, he knew nothing about her and by her own admission she had failed Sirius a number of times. Is that someone he wanted to help him? The longer he sat silently, the more nervous looking she became.

"I am sorry about Sirius, for everything. I really do want to help you and I want us to be friends."Harry carefully examined her face. He was surprised she was older than he had first estimated, old enough to be Sirius' mother. He felt he could trust her, and he hoped he wasn't wrong this time.

"I am planning to free myself of outside influence. I need some help in the legal aspects of it and would appreciate advice, I may not take it but I would always hear you out. If you can assist me in my immediate goals, and prove yourself trust worthy I will tell you more. "

She studied him quite seriously for a moment before a huge smile spread across her face. "I think you are very lucky. I just happen to be well versed in the law in many different aspects. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Harry nodded. Phase Two could begin since she seemed to be on board with him so far.

"How do you feel about the Ministry? Are you opposed to standing up to them while being seen as working for them?"

"I feel like I am in some kind of crazy spy flick. I have no problem playing with the Ministry along as we are not trying to overthrow it."

"That isn't quite what I had in mind. I am more of a stirrer upper than an over thrower."

"Delightful, lead on."

Dobby brought them both straight to the Minister's sitting room. After calming the frightened secretary, they were quickly buzzed into the New Minister's office. Rufus Scrimgeour, was much more serious than Fudge, and Harry was more inclined to take him seriously.

"Harry Potter! I see you have decided to take my offer seriously. Who is this charming lady you have brought with you?"

"I am Rosaleen Hewlin, Mr. Potter's attorney."

The Minister blanched a little before quickly masking his emotions and gesturing them to sit down.

"How can I help you then?"

"I have a few items I would like to discuss before we move on to the Ministry's offer. I brought my attorney because I plan to bringing legal action against a member of the Ministry and I wish to offer evidence for a convicted felon, who was locked away without ever getting a trial."

"These are very serious accusations Mr. Potter."

"Ironically, serious is the word I would use as well. The first would be Sirius Black. I have evidence that he was an innocent man, I will give you all of the evidence but only after I have been assured that anyone involved will not face any criminal charges for their involvement. Do I have your assurance Mister Minister. Harry extended his wand towards the Minister, and after a slight hesitation the Minister placed his own wand against Harry's sealing the promise.

Harry first placed the documents he had removed from his parent's vault, and requested a Pensive. While the Minister had one brought up he read over the Documents carefully.

"These are not enough to clear his name. He was seen in the Village with Peter Pettigrew and at the scene when all those Muggles were killed." He feel silent as Harry continued to stare at him.

"Hence, the Pensive, Minister."

The secretary soon brought a stone bowl and placed it on the Minister's desk before quickly disappearing through the door again. Harry quickly brought the memory of the night Wormtail escaped, beginning with Sirius explanation, and then the transformation of Pettigrew, along with his confession. Harry ended the memory there to keep any information the Minister didn't need private. He then placed the memory of the night in the grave yard, beginning when Harry and Cedric were portkeyed and ending when Voldemort was reborn.

The Minister sat at his desk looking a little paler than before but not frightened. He studied Harry for a moment before he seemed to nod in agreement.

"In light of this evidence and the fact that Sirius Black was given no trial. I over-turn his sentence, and pronounce him a free man. However, I am aware that he recently passed away and so I declare that the Ministry will make a restitution to his heir, Harry James Potter, for an amount of fifteen thousand galleons. Since Mister Black was an Auror, I will also add the sum of his paychecks for the thirteen years he was imprisoned taking into account raises and the cost of living. Let us say an even Two-hundred thousand galleons. "

"That is very kind, Minister." Harry was aware that the Minister was attempting to buy him, what the Minister didn't know was Harry wasn't for sale. He couldn't buy his loyalty. "Our second order of business is much simpler. My parents made Sirius my guardian, since he was arrested and unable to care for me I was placed with my relatives. Since Sirius has been cleared and my relatives want nothing to do with the magical community I wish to be declared Independent. I want to be emancipated from them, so that they can completely remove themselves from magical notice and be granted my full rights as an adult, so no one can attempt to force my choices since I am underage or their **student."**

Scrimgeour latched onto that last word just as Harry had intended. He knew the Minister wouldn't want Dumbledore to have any sway over Harry and the best way to bring him to the Ministry's side would be to cut him loose from the ties that bound him to Dumbledore.

"Of course Harry, these are troubled times. I can understand your relatives fear. I think it would be best if we could quietly remove them from the notice of the magical community, that would make them safer, and being an adult would mean that you could visit whenever you wanted to, of course."He seemed almost gleeful, to be pulling one over on Dumbledore. He wasn't as useless as Fudge but he was just as easily manipulated, if in the end he got what he wanted.

Harry watched carefully as the Minister had all the necessary paper work drafted. Rosaleen carefully looked over it before Harry signed it and Rosaleen witnessed it, along with the Secretary whose name was Tessa. Harry couldn't make out her last name without leaning over so he remained motionless contemplating the Minister.

"The next order of business is rather difficult. I don't want to jeopardize our new friendship but I can't allow this to remain secret any longer. An Undersecretary of the previous Minister by the name of Dolores Umbridge used a blood-quill on the students of Hogwarts during her time as a teacher there. I have dozens of witnesses and just as many victims, myself included. I am not normally one to seek revenge, but her use of the quill disturbed me. If she could use it on children what might she be willing to use on the members of our community." Harry gestured to the Pensive and began to put his memories of Umbrage in them, including her threat of the cruciatus curse. Harry glanced at Rosaleen while they waited for the Minister, and she gave him a small smile.

"This is very serious, very serious indeed. I will have to take immediate action. I can't have this kind of behavior in the Ministry, the people depend on us to protect them. They can't have faith in us if they fear our methods. I will personally handle this. I will bring Umbridge up on charges against the students of Hogwarts, I will keep your name out of it to the best of my ability, we don't want a riot on our hands for the Ministry abusing the Boy-who-lived. "

Harry smiled inwardly. The Minister was making this all just too easy. He decided not to push for anything more today, he could always make more demands later. He didn't want to press the Minister too far or he might lose his advantage.

"How long until the paper work is filled and takes affect?"

"About 48 hours, we will send you a notification as soon as the process is complete."

"You have been extremely helpful Minister, I do have one more request... can we keep this quite, between us, only let those who need to know. I am afraid if anyone found out it might get back to someone who would try to stop it and that isn't good for anyone."

The Minister had looked annoyed at first but quickly agreed to keep it secret. As Harry stood to leave the Minister opened his mouth to ask about the Ministry's deal.

"I look forward to seeing you soon, Minister." Harry smiled before Dobby quickly apparated them away.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry quickly thanked Rosaleen and agreed that they would meet here again next week on Tuesday to visit Gringotts and have Harry take over as the Heir of both the Potter and Black family.

Harry and Dobby returned to find that Winky had cleaned the whole house from top to bottom, and had cooked a mountain of food for dinner that evening. The Dursleys were surprisingly quiet, they had enjoyed their meal and since all the chores were done and the house spotless, they decided to just ignore their nephew and maybe take a vacation for a few weeks to Marge's house.

They left the next Monday. Since the house was so quiet and Harry's plans were on hold until the following day he decided to spend Monday going through his many letters and answering them in a positive upbeat manner to the best of his ability.

He made it though several letters before giving up, he had even enjoyed a few of them. His plans for the Ministry and his wealth were easy, Dumbledore and Voldemort were put on the back burners but he still had no idea how to silence the internal anguish that screamed at him constantly to run and hide, to be someone else, someone better, someone more worthy, someone less secretly Slytherin and more genuinely Gryffindor.

The only problem is he couldn't be more Gryffindor, he had burned out his courage and cashed in his last nerve. He no longer felt like he could keep up with his golden-boy image, not without his mask. If he went back to Hogwarts and his friends like this he wouldn't last a week. They would be able to see through him, they would know it was all an act and he was just a great pretender. He would be cast out, and forced to make his way alone. He loved his friends, yet he hated them too. For their fickleness, their vanity, their inability to empathize. He wished he could just love them as he use to. Dumbledore went on about his "ability to love" being his greatest gift, Mrs. Weasley talked about his "heart of gold." Harry worried about what would happen when he spent all of that gold, and there was nothing left of his heart. It was quickly disappearing and it didn't seem to be incurring any interest. Dumbledore didn't tell him what to do if he ran out of love. It didn't matter, he no longer trusted Dumbledore. He didn't really know if he could trust any of them.

Ever since Voldemort had possessed him in the Department of Mysteries Harry hadn't felt right. His emotions were wrong, he was uncomfortable in his body, he hated his reflection, his scar, his glasses. He was beginning to hate everything about himself. He had been able to ignore it when he had his mask but now without it to protect him there was nothing to protect him from the knowledge that he hated himself, and would do anything to escape Harry Potter. He knew it was impossible, but he still wished for it, willed himself to become another.

Fearing that he was losing what little control he still possessed he sent Dobby to Rosaleen. The moment she appeared he fell into her arms, and told her everything. He held nothing back, anything hurt or slight he had ever felt, he spilled all of his secrets to this woman who he believed could understand.

Once he regained control of himself. He hesitantly looked up into her sympathetic eyes. She smiled sadly and kissed his forehead.

"I cannot change what has happened to you but I can help you to become someone else. I need to look into it and speak with some old friends but I might be able to provide you with the perfect solution to your problem. I just need you to hold it together until after we take care of the Gringotts things."

After having a small dinner together, Harry headed up to bed. Rosaleen had decided to spend the night in the Dursley's guest room and that they would leave early the next morning together.

At exactly eight in the morning they disappeared from Surrey and appeared in front of the Bank. The quickly were escorted to Snag-tooth's office and waited in silence for the Goblin to arrive.

"Mister Potter, back so soon. I take it the documents you removed from your parents vault were...enlightening?"

"Indeed. In fact they helped me a great deal. Which has actually brought me back to your office, you see I am now considered an adult in the eyes of the Ministry and as such now have access to my complete inheritance. I wish to immediately disinherit all members of the Black family that have ties to Voldemort, including both Black sisters Bellatrix Lestrange, and Narcissus Malfoy. He would also like to remove access from all other vault users, for the immediate future only Mister Potter shall be allowed to removed anything from the vaults, should anyone attempt to deny their request and please forward their identity to me. "

"Any and all holdings of both Lestrange and Malfoy which were given to them as their dowry shall be immediately returned to the Black family vault. We would be happy to deny anyone who isn't Mister Potter from accessing his vault." Snap-tooth quickly wrote the memo and sent it with an underling to be processed.

"Mister Potter also wished to revoke their claim on any and all Black properties and Business, included stocks, bonds, savings, and private accounts." Rosaleen quickly added. Snap-tooth nodded as if this were all expected.

"Is it possible to consolidate all of Mister Potter's vaults into a single vault and to get an accounting of all of his holdings as well as where they came from. I wouldlike allthe money put together but all other items shall be placed together with the other items retrieved from that vault.

Snap-tooth kept nodding, all the while quickly scribbling away."It shall all be taken care of exactly the way you want it."

"Is there any way for me to access my vault without coming into the bank. Do you do debit or credit cards like Muggles?" Harry asked, thinking about ways to keep others from following him.

"I think we can accommodate you. It is an unusual request but not unheard of. We offer a card made in the likeness of the Muggle card, used the same way, requires a pass code just as theirs do, accepted by both wizards and Muggles, and completely untraceable, it sends the information to Gringotts and will appear on your monthly statements which will be forwarded to you current location. We do require a fee, it can be paid either monthly or in a yearly sum, if you agree we can automatically withdraw it when it comes due. "

"What would be the yearly total? Are there any additional fees?"

"Twenty-five galleons to activate it, and thirteen galleons a year. Activation is a onetime fee, and your yearly charge will never go up as long as you live."

"Pass me a quill. I would like it as soon as it is available."

"If you would be willing to wait, I can have it for you in about twenty minutes."

Harry and Rosaleen waited in the comfort of Snag-tooth's office, sipping the tea provided by the Goblin and contemplating the next move.

"Harry? When we leave here would you be opposed to coming to meet my friends, and discussing with them the problems you told me about last night?"

"That would be fine. Where are they? Should I get my stuff from the Dursley's?"

"Well I think we should get Hedwig and your school items. I want you to burn those horrid clothes of you cousin's but that can wait till we arrive in America."

"America? I have never really traveled except to school."

"My friends are Doctor's in America, very famous with the Muggles, they are exactly what you need."

Harry wasn't sure how a Doctor was going to help him but Rosaleen had helped him so far and he wasn't about to doubt her now. He was going to America.


	5. Chapter 5

Rosaleen and Harry arrived in America the next day using an international portkey. All International portkeys arrive in Washington D.C. Ellis island to be exact, in the Statue of Liberty's torch. After a quick tour of the city, they located a public floo. Their destination was the visitor's center in Miami, Florida.

After arriving in Miami, they rented a car and drove to a very large building. Julian Troy and Sean Walsh were famous plastic surgeons. Rosaleen must have been a very good friend because they had cleared their entire day to see Harry.

"It usually takes months to get a consultation but given our friendship statue and who you are, they agreed to drop everything for this consultation. No one does better work and they can really help."

"Hello Harry, it's nice to meet you. Rosaleen, it's been too long. I am Dr. Troy, my associate is Dr. Walsh. We will get business out of the way first. So Harry… tell me what you don't like about yourself?"

"My scar, well scars, my glasses, I pretty much hate everything. I want to be someone else, someone new. I don't care what it takes or what it costs, I will do anything."

"Everything is a whole lot. The glasses are easy to take care of we have a series of procedures to choose from. I looked into your medical records with Rosaleen's permission. A curse scar is not going to be easy and we may have to try different methods. Once we take care of those things we will have another consult before moving on to any other procedures. Now I have already made you an appointment with a Doctor that specializes in both wizarding and Muggles medicine and he agrees that with a simple surgery and a few potions that he can correct any issue with your vision, these scan are old however, so he will need to examine you first and decided if his plan for treatment is still the best there is available. I will have to examine and consult with Dr. Walsh before we begin but let us settle your eye problems first."

After the Harry's nod of ascent, they made their way to a local restaurant and had lunch before heading off to the Optometrist. Harry was delighted to meet the beautiful Doctor Kimber Moore. She looked more like a model than a Doctor, and Harry felt himself heat up.

In no time at all he was in the office going through a series of eye tests. It took a couple hours to get through them all but they were finally done.

"I must tell you, your eyes are beautiful and it is a crime that someone let you hide them behind glasses all these years when it was easily corrected. I need to perform a minor surgery to raconteur your eyes, but it is minimally invasive, once I have finished you will need to keep your eyes wrapped for two weeks while you take a mixture of anti-biotic and anti-inflammatory potions. Once you finish your potions, Iwill examine your eyesagain and we will see if any other procedures are needed. I have you scheduled for tomorrow, first patient of the day."

The next day found Harry in a chair laid back and counting backwards from 10 as the liquid in the i.v. slowly crept into his veins. He woke up a few hours later in the hotel room they were renting, despite not being able to see the surgery seemed to have gone well. Rosaleen told him how happy Doctor Moore was with the procedure and how optimistic she was that Harry's vision would be perfect when he came back for his post-op.

Doctor Moore proved correct when she removed the bandages and looked straight into Harry's hypnotic green eyes.

"Any pain? Fuzzy? Blurry? Blind Spots?" She quickly moved through the standard test as Harry answered each question with a solid no. As she had predicted his vision was perfect, and his eyes were stunning. She had looked into hundreds of eyes since she began her career but she had never seen a pair quite like his, if he wasn't fifteen she would swear she was in love. "Keep my card, I would like to see you again in six months."

Since his vision was now perfect and he no longer needed his glasses he was a little happier. He no longer had to worry about them getting lost or broken in a duel or during Quidditch. He would no longer hear any slurs against his vision or glasses. A tiny fissure in his mask closed. Only about a million more to go.

Apparently Dr. Walsh and Troy had been very busy while Harry was blind. They had put their regular appointments on hold, and had been researching ways to rid Harry of his scar. Apparently they would have to break the connection to Voldemort first, and then they would use plastic surgery to remove both this lightning bolt scar and the ones on his arms from the Basilisk and Wormtail.

"The scar on your arm from the Basilisk gave me an ideal, a curse breaking potion used on objects can be altered with Basilisk venom and combined with a very powerful Restorative Draught to remove the curse without causing you any harm. Then we simply use Muggle methods to remove the" scars, by stretching the skin and removing the parts that have been damaged."Doctor Troy went on to explain the procedure in detail and the post-op measures that would have to be taken. He also explained that it was safer to put Harry under and fix all three scars instead of putting him under multiple times.

"We decided to give you a few days of rest and relaxation, go see a bit of Florida, we have you scheduled for Friday. In a few weeks you will be all healed up and we can see how you feel about yourself then."Doctor was smiled and shook Harry's hand.

He didn't say it. None of them did, but Harry could tell they were worried about his desire to be someone else. He knew they were going to help him but he could still feel their hesitation.

Harry and Rosaleen spent the next several days visiting various beaches, amusement parks, and museums. Harry had the best time he could ever remember, he didn't worry about anything but the next thing they were going to do and how to get there. Some of the tiny cracks within him began to close. He hoped he could put himself back together, the summer was almost half way gone, and he had to get it together by September 1st.

Before he knew it, Friday was here. He was a little nervous about this time. He wasn't sure they could break the connection to Voldemort but they seemed so sure, and he didn't want to disappoint anyone by doubting it would work.

Once again he found himself counting back from 10. It seemed to be just like last time floating in a comfortable haze, until he fell asleep. It took seventeen hours, but at the end Harry was not only scar free, he was curse free.

The connection to Voldemort was gone. He felt lighter, freer. The weight had been lifted from his shoulders, the taint of darkness was faded. He felt better than he ever had, another opening was being repaired. He might actually be able to face them in September. If only the filth of the possession or the pain left from the words of a prophecy could be surgically removed as his physical scars had been.

He would be completely healed in just a few short weeks, and he was faced with the dilemma. Did he wish to go back to England, with his improved self and attempt to face the friends, fans, and foes or would he continue to try to achieve someone better, someone freer, someone more worthy.

He had a few weeks to decide. He would wait for the Doctor's to examine him again and to present their ideas for curing him from an unknown ill before he decided if he would charge forward into the unknown to retreat to the safety of expectations and resume his mask.


	6. Chapter 6

Rosaleen paced nervously around her hotel room. She had promised Harry to do everything in her power to help him, and while she was busy trying to remove the scars and help him become someone else, as he said he wanted, she couldn't help but to feel that she was cheating him, already on her way to failing him just as she had failed Sirius.

While she understood Harry's need to escape, to be someone else so he didn't go crazy. She was also aware that he couldn't escape himself completely. No matter how much work they did, he would ultimately have to face the prophecy and fight Voldemort to the death.

He needs more… more time, more training, more life experiences so he will want to fight to win. He had never said so but she had the feeling that he expected to fight Voldemort to the death, only it would be his own. Could she just stand by and watch him crumble under the pressure and face a fight he had little hope of winning.

No! No. She wouldn't lose him, she had only known him a short time, but she imagined he was what her own son would have been like, if he had lived. Harry was a boy without a mother, and while he was grown enough not to need one she could fill the needs that he did have. But what to do? How to help without making things worse, time was so short. He only had a few weeks before he would be compelled to go back to school.

Despite his pain, she knew he would go back and attempt to face them. Too many people depended on him and he wasn't the kind to let people down, no matter how many times they had let him down. If only she could heal all the scars that couldn't be seen and give him a life time of training in a few days. She needed a miracle. She scoffed at her own stupidity, she didn't need a miracle, she needed magic.

"Winky!" She hoped the elf would answer her.

"Yes, Mrs. Rosaleen?"

"Is it possible for you to apparate me home to the Ministry of Magic and back here without causing an alarm to either government or harming me or yourself?"

"Yes Mrs. Rosaleen. Winky can do all that."

"I need to go right now. Dobby is looking after Harry?"

"Yes. He never leaves Master Harry side unless he needs something."

Since Harry was well taken care of, Rosaleen immediately took Winky's tiny hand and disappeared with a small pop.

The appeared in the foyer of the Ministry and Rosaleen quickly made her way towards the Minister's office. The secretary, Tess just waved her through. The Minister appeared to be taking a nap, or praying to any deity that would listen.

"Minister!? I need you to help me with a few things so that we will have a chance of winning this war against Voldemort."

If he had been sleeping before he was definitely awake now. He stared at her for a minute before blinking rapidly in surprise. His expression became almost pleasant.

"What do you require, Mrs. Hewlin? I assume it is for the Potter boy?"

"Yes. Of course. I need just three really tiny little things from you. Really simple, no trouble at all. "

His expression showed his disbelief at this statement but he nodded anyway and gestured for her to continue.

"I need a safe location. Somewhere unplottable and where no one will accidently stumble upon anyone who happens to be training there . I need the best person you have to train someone to fight and kill a Dark Lord and his minions." The Minister had been nodding to all of these things. "I also need an untraceable and unlimited time turner." The Minster nodded for about six seconds before rapidly shaking his head in the negative.

"I can give you unlimited, and untraceable access to the past! There is no telling how many things could be disrupted."

"None at all Mister Minister. I plan to have just Harry and his new Professor go back in time. He will remain in the undisclosed location, where he will be trained until he is ready to return and fight the Dark Load. Only four people will ever know he went back in time, two of them are standing in this room. If you are unable to provide a secure location, I have a safe house that I haven't been to in years. No one will ever know and we will have a real chance of turning this war around. I don't know about you, but I don't want it to be like the last one, we will have an edge, we might be able to end it with a minimum of lives lost."

The Minister seemed to consider he words carefully. Perhaps thinking of the last war. He had become head of the Auror office just days before the fall of the Dark Lord, and while he had little success capturing Death Eaters during the war, he had proved more than capable of cleaning them up afterwards. He didn't want another war like the last. So many people missing, good witches and wizards targeted and killed on a madman's whims. No he wanted this over with as quickly as possible and he wasn't willing to make an enemy of the Potter boy as Fudge had. He needed people to see them working together, protecting the people. Even if the boy was totally useless he gave people hope, he was a symbol they could rally behind. People needed to see the Ministry doing everything possible to aid him in the fight against Voldemort.

"How do you suppose we incorporate this into support for the Ministry? People will want to know what I am doing to help win this war?"

"Tell them the truth. Mr. Potter is being trained by the best the Ministry has to offer in an undisclosed location. Tell them the Ministry plans to beef up security, Aurors at Hogwarts, in public places like Diagon Alley, train them harder and longer, offer Defense classes to all Ministry personnel and their families. Hell, put together a few public workshops to brush up on defense, teach people how to make a good evacuation plans. Make shelters for people to go to if they are attacked or their homes destroyed by Death eaters. Muggle Government provide a number of services for their civilians, we should have equal if not better services in place for ours, we have magic on our side. We can prevent many of the tragedies and disasters of the last war simply by being prepared for them and having protocols in place for when they happen. Let the community be proactive this time Minister instead of just reacting." Rosaleen was a little flushed by the end of her speech but by the time she had finished, the Minister had an answering spark in his own eyes.

"I can get people to start on these public projects right away. Do you have any other suggestions?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. Harry told me that the main mistake in the first war was that we didn't reach out to the other beings in our world. Voldemort considers most of them above his notice, but he used both Dementors and Werewolves before. Since they never received the hand of friendship form us, they had no reason to help us in the last war. Whatever peoples personal prejudges maybe there is no denying the fact that had a more united front, Voldemort would not have risen as high as he had before. I personally know a select group that might be willing to be ambassadors for the Ministry for these groups. As you know Rubeus Hargrid has already been sent to the Giants, perhaps with an Official offer of Friendship from the Minister himself he might have more success? Fleur Delacour is of Veela descent and an excellent choice to approach them, Remus Lupin to the Werewolves, and Bill Weasley to the Goblins."

"These are all excellent suggestions. Why I can't guarantee how they will be met with by public opinion, I will make the offer to each and every group I think I might have even a chance of swaying. Anything we have over looked?"

"Well, I do have an idea, but it is pretty mad, I mean I will sound absolutely crazy!"

"These are desperate times Mrs. Hewlin, proceed."

"How do you feel about House Elves, Minister?"


	7. Chapter 7

Rosaleen had finished all her errands much sooner than she had anticipated and hurried back to the hotel room as quickly as Winky could take her. She needed to update Harry on all of her progress and make sure he was willing to allow the changes in treatment she planned to make. She hoped he would be, considering his first appointment was in an hour.

"Harry? May I come in?"

"Sure. It's open"

He had healed nicely and was living perfection in the physical sense. He had grown quite a bit in the last few weeks and had put on some much needed weight. He also looked both more mature and less world weary. All in all the changes were both noticeable and positive.

"I went to see the Minister today. He was agreeable to all of your suggestions and he will be finding a suitable location and instructor as quickly as he can. He wants to personally select your trainer and will be carefully screening them based on the things we think you need to learn, in addition to the things you requested of course."

"He really went for all of my suggestions? Even the less than politically favorable ones?"

"He was an Auror before he was Minister. He IS a politician, he also remembers what it was like before, and doesn't want to repeat it this time around…Harry? I did something else while I was out and I know I did it without your permission but it was something that I really, truly felt needed to be done and I think it will help you win."

"What is it?"

"I asked a very special friend of mine, who is a kind of Doctor to come see you. She specializes in the Mental Arts, specifically Mind Healing. I am not just talking about emotional issues, but any damage that may have been done, be it curses or spells, like your scar."

" I never wanted someone in my mind ever again… but if you really think it will help, I will agree to meet her and we will see how it goes. I won't promise anything."

"Meeting her is all I ask. I think you will like her, she is a relative of Miss. Delacour, her grandmother in fact. She will be here soon.

"Non, We have already arrived."

Both Harry and Rosaleen jerked at the unexpected interruption and stood to greet their guests. A beautiful young woman walked in, just a few years older than Fleur, levitating a couple of suitcases. An older woman entered more sedately and regally took the only chair in the room. Rosaleen asked Winky to fetch tea and gestured for Harry and the other young woman to sit. Harry was distinctly uncomfortable when the young woman sat beside him on the love-seat instead of the couch with Rosaleen.

While the elderly woman spoke softly to Rosaleen, Harry took a moment to subtly study both her and the young woman at his side. He briefly looked over them both, noticing similarities. He was a little surprised when the young woman turned her attention to him.

"Hello, You are Harry Potter, no?" She asked in a very melodious voice, much like Fleur's but with a little more gravel to it. He wasn't sure if she was trying to be seductive or if it just came naturally to her.

"Yes, the one and only. Are you also a family member of Fleur's ?"

"Non, we have some common ancestry yes? But are not of the same family. I am Arsinoe Argent. We are distant cousins, yes. I am distantly related to the Black family as well. We are cousins, yes?"

" I don't know, I am not a Black. We might be distantly related, I had an Aunt or something marry in. My godfather was a Black. He died recently. The rest are all crazy… no offense."

"None taken."

She studied him closely for a minute. Then she leaned forward slightly, offering him a better view of her figure, before lowering her eyelashes, reminding him of Bellatrix's hooded eyes and purring…

"You enjoy the French scenery, no?"

Somewhat puzzled by this sudden change in her behavior, Harry answered with a quizzical expression.

"I haven't been there."She smiled almost immediately and leaned back once again before laughing.

"Do you want to know what you are doing right now that is incredibly interesting?" Harry nodded dumbly. "You are looking only into my eyes."

"Your eyes are very lovely."

"I have lovely everything. Yet, you take no notice of me."

Harry glanced at the other occupants in the room and noticed all were focused on him. He glanced first to Fleur's grandmother, then Rosaleen, before setting his eyes back onto the silver eyes of Mrs. Delacour. She smiled pleasantly before chuckling softly.

"A half-blood indeed, Mister Potter. My name is Isabelle, I am here to assist you in your fight against the Dark Lord. Would you like the good news or the bad news first?"

"Ah…good news?"

"I can already tell that I can help you. For I can see already where most of the problem lies, everything else is cookies."

"I think you mean cake."

"Ah yes, cake."

"So what is the bad news."

"That your healing process and desire to be as you say "someone else" is much easier now that I am here, however, your life in general shall be much harder."

"That is bad news. What could be harder than a prophecy stating that you have to kill or be killed by an evil bigot who murdered your parents and countless others, who also has a following of equally deranged sociopaths following his every whim?"

"That while you are listed as a half-blood, with a muggleborn mother you are actually a Cambion with a pureblooded wizard as a father."

"A Cambion? Is that the French word for mudblood?"

"Non, it is a type of magical creature that frequently interbreeds with humans. Not so unlike Veela, it also explains why you are immune to Fleur and Arsinoe. I thought perhaps because Fleur was only a quarter that you could ignore her… charms. However, Arsinoe just used her ability to enthrall and you didn't even notice."

"We haven't learned about Cambions yet in Care of Magical Creatures or Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Nor will you. They don't teach about demonic creatures until your seventh year." Rosaleen broke in. "They don't teach it in C.o.M.C because little is known about them, and they only get a few sentences in Defense and that is if your teacher has you study Vampires and Incubi."

"What do Vampires and Incubi, have to do with anything?"

"Oh… well a Cambion is the offspring of a Incubus or Succubus and a mortal. They also fall into the Vampire category because they have a few vampiric qualities and some of the same measures can be used against them."

"Does that mean I am going to be walking around the castle at night, avoiding garlic and sucking the blood of my classmates?"

"No, of course not…not exactly?"

"Not exactly!?"


	8. Chapter 8

Isabella smiled sadly at Harry. After a few quiet words to Arsinoe and Rosaleen, she moved her chair so that she was sitting directly across from Harry, peering deep into his eyes.

Arsinoe places a few books on to the table before following Rosaleen into the other room and closing the door.

"These books are to help you understand the journey we will be taking together. I can see in your mind that someone has placed a block. It appears to be keeping a large portion of your natural abilities from reaching their full potential. Rosaleen tells me that you feel as if you wear a mask and it has been crumbling under the pressure of the last five years. Much of that has to do with this blockage. As far as I can tell you have had it for most of your life, however, it appears that your magic has been trying to repair it, but each additional strain placed against it has caused more cracks. Whoever placed this spell did it to protect you. I can tell because your magic appears to be trying to fill in the holes that have been created, this wouldn't happen if it was created by someone wishing to harm you."

"What should we do then. Is it from my own good or is it hindering me?"

"I don't think whoever placed it meant for it to last so long. It appears that the original intent of the spell was to suppress you Cambion powers, unfortunately their intent seems to have been warped by the curse Voldemort hit you with and it blocked most of your powers by funneling them into strengthening the blockage."

"It is fixable though? How can tell who has been in my mind. You see everyone?"

" I can sense the others that have touched your mind, the more contact they have had the more I can sense them, but I cannot see all the events of their involvement, I need your help for that."

"How can you see into my mind?"

"I have a special gift, somewhere between divinization and empathy. I use a mix of scanning and seeing into the past to sense a patient's state of mind. I can then enter their minds; only with permission and view the things they are unable to cope with, helping them see it from the outside and accept it."

"It seems like magical Psychology, you're a mind-reading Psychoanalyst. Where shall we begin? What will you be doing exactly, I mean in my mind?"

"I think we should begin by dealing with the emotional traumas of your past before we begin to attempt to remove the blockage in your mind. I would like to start with the more recent traumas. I will enter your mind, it is much like Legilimency, but while they are looking for thoughts, I will be looking for emotions. I will wrap your consciousness within a bubble with mine and we will observe your past from the third perspective, you won't notice it at first but I will basically be using my gift to help you understand and accept the things we will see. It is difficult to explain but I will be dealing with one emotion at a time until they are all once again under your control, instead of you being controlled by them."

"Okay."

" Let us begin."

Harry was surprised to feel Isabelle slip into his mind gently. It was nothing like his previous experiences. He could actually feel her surround him and gently nudge him into a new area of his mind.

"Show me the events in the Department of Mysteries."

He was instantly transported to that night, just like a memory in a Pensive, he saw himself and his group of friends run through the Ministry, fighting Death Eaters, Sirius falling through the veil, attempting to curse Bellatrix and finally the agony of being possessed by Voldemort.

"Again." She quietly commanded. He showed her again and again. They went through the memory several times without stopping. It was weird. He didn't feel tired, he wasn't on the floor or out of breath, he didn't have a headache. It was nothing like having Snape in his mind.

"That is because Snape was not trying to heal. He may have been trying to teach you but he wasn't trying to make it easy. Using pain is not how you train someone to protect their mind. Allowing someone entrance into your thoughts requires trust, it must be earned not demanded, he is not fit to teach this art, no matter how skilled he maybe."

After several hours she removed herself from his mind. They had only looked at the memories from that night and Harry was exasperated, he didn't feel any different and they had wasted the whole day.

"After dinner I would like you to start reading those books. I will try to get one on Cambion here as quickly as possible. I would also like you to be in bed by ten, we will start again tomorrow right after breakfast."

Harry ate dinner quickly and took the books to his room. He grudgingly began to read one and was quite surprised at how interesting it was. He had even finished by the time ten o' clock came around. He shut off the light and drifted off into a peaceful and dreamless sleep.

When he awoke in the morning he felt great. He had slept through the whole night and didn't have a single nightmare. He could remember everything that had happened in the Department of Mysteries but he no longer felt the memories dragging him down. He could still feel the pain and anger, but they were no longer overwhelming and consuming him as they had before.

He felt horrible about the things he had thought about Isabella last night. He actually was looking forward to today if it meant another night of sleep like he had just had.

After breakfast they took us the same seats as the day before and she once again entered his mind.

"Today we are going to focus on Umbridge, how you got the scars on your hand, the way people treated you at school and in the news last year. Any unresolved issues with your friends, etc."

So he showed her, everything. Some things she passed over rather quickly like the articles in the paper. Other things she viewed again and again, mostly his detentions with Umbridge and his fights with his friends.

After a couple hours they took a break for lunch and they talked about some of the things he had read in the book he finished. Lunch was over quickly though and they moved on to his dreams from Voldemort, Nagini's attack of Mr. Weasley, his trial and the Dementor attack.

Things went this way for the next few days, they would view his memories after breakfast, during lunch they would discuss the book he had been reading, spend the afternoon in his mind, and after dinner he would read.

The day they had viewed Cedric's death had been difficult and they spent a whole day going over it and the final task, the other days were much easier. Perhaps it was because it wasn't as horrifying as seeing a classmate killed. He began to wonder why he had never been sent to a counselor or mind healer after the other events taking place at Hogwarts. Was it just because he seemed to be coping? Did anyone else seek professional help, like Ginny after being possessed or Hermione after being petrified?

His life with the Dursley's also passed in a blur. It seemed his mask had been immensely useful because it protected him from most of the events that proceeded his Fourth year. It seemed that having your soul almost sucked out by a Dementor, Basilisks and killer teacher, year of little food and living in a cupboard was not as traumatizing as one would expect, at least not compared to Fourth and Fifth year.

They had finished for the day but he was already dreading tomorrow. Tomorrow they would go back to Godric's Hollow on the night of Halloween, they would be viewing his memories of the last night of his parent's lives, he would see Voldemort curse him and relive the moment the curse rebounded.


	9. Chapter 9

Harry spent the next couple days confined in his room, only Dobby and Winky were allowed to enter. The others couldn't understand what was bothering him. The mind healing session they had about Godric's Hollow had went well. All of the major emotional issues were out of the way and Isabelle was confident that he would learn to shield his mind quickly. She didn't seem to be concerned about his absence claiming he wasn't depressed or angry. Rosaleen wasn't convinced.

Harry had been a little upset about seeing his parent's deaths but no more than he had been before, he had actually handled seeing their deaths better than reliving Sirius fall through the veil. Isabelle guessed it was because he couldn't really remember them and that had kept him from feeling the emotions as strongly. He had been able to get to know Sirius, they had connected and Harry had many memories associated with him, the memories made it harder for Harry to accept his death.

Since Isabelle had no idea what was wrong and Arsinoe wasn't really involved in any way, Rosaleen decided she would try again, she would force the door down if she had to.

She was preparing what she would do and say to convince him to open the door, so she was quite surprised when he came out and they almost ran into each other. All of her thoughts and arguments flew out the window. Harry looked well enough, no dark circles, no angry glares, he almost looked… happy, excited even.

"Harry?" chorused throughout the hotel room.

"My mother put the spell on me that blocked my powers, she had to wait for Halloween. It was a ritual that was done, both my parents were needed for it to work. That is why they couldn't run, he came just as it ended. They were too exhausted to fight him and had no time to do anything else. Why they did it isn't important any more, the point is that they expected someone to remove it later. I read their will, Sirius was to be my guardian, but I don't think they intended for him to raise me on his own. I think I will need to find someone, someone like me, I think they had someone in mind to help me with my abilities, maybe in case they didn't make it. My mom kept talking about something, she thought it would help win the war, I tried to puzzle it out from their conversation but I can't decide if it is a person, a place, or some kind of spell."

"I would like to view the memory, if you will let me. I can try to help you figure it out but we have been worried about you. I had to reschedule your appointment and the trainer from the Minister arrived yesterday."

"They did? When is the appointment?"

"In the morning."

"I need to speak to Isabelle, then I will meet the trainer."

Harry and Isabelle took seats in the sitting room as the other moved off into the other rooms in the suite. Isabelle sat quietly, waiting for Harry to find the words for what he wanted to say.

"I can already feel the shields in my mind, but they are not enough, are they?"

"No. Some natural shielding is in place, that is from your Cambion blood. It will keep those with mind gifts from noticing you, a special skill that is used for your kinds… nightly activities. Also, since you had a little training with Professor Snape they are stronger than they would have been normally but to someone looking for your mind or actually trying to get in… it will not keep them out. I plan to train you but we are very short on time. I will be able to get basic skills in place by the time you return to school but it will be quite some time before you will be able to deflect the Dark Lord, or skilled enough so that they won't know you have the ability."

"I have an idea in mind, I would like you to hear it. If you agree, I think it would be to the benefit of us all." Harry went on to explain his idea in great detail. When he finished, Isabelle nodded and promised to consider it carefully before deciding.

Harry then went to find Rosaleen, he didn't want to meet this new trainer by himself. When they arrived at the correct door, Harry was surprised to find it the one next to his, his room was flanked on either side by his new friends and his new trainer. It occurred to him this was a defensive measure.

He tentatively knocked on the door and was surprised it opened immediately. He was looking up at a very serious looking man. Harry imagined he was the perfect stereotype for a commanding office in the military.

"Sir?" He asked as the man neither greeted them nor moved to allow them entry.

"Harry Potter!"

Harry jumped as the voice barked his name loudly.

"Yes Sir?"

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about teaching you the correct responses." The man smiled. Harry was shocked to realize this was his rendition of a joke. He smiled weakly and followed the man into the room and took the seat indicated. Rosaleen sat in the chair near him.

"I have been assigned by the Minister to take you to a secret location, and into the past for an undisclosed period of time. I will keep you there for as long as it takes to train you in all the skills believed necessary for you to stand against your enemy and any of his minions he might have with him. When I deem you fit, we will return, and I will accompany you to school, I will be with you until the Dark Lord is no longer a threat or until you or I am dead, is that clear?"

"The Minister has decided to make you be a body guard? He can spare fighters?"

"Negative. I am a special operative. I am in the Unspeakable's department but I also take on work when necessary in the Auror department. I was in the Marines in my youth, once I finished Hogwarts and when my contract was up, I went to work for the Ministry doing things you may not know about."

"You went to Hogwarts?"

"Yes. I was a Gryffindor, I am a few years older than your parents but your Dad and I were on the Quidditch team together, Chasers. If you have ever seen your Dad's award, my name is to the right of his. My name is listed as M.C. McGonagall, My full name is Morholt Cato McGonagall but you may call me Cato at least when we are not in training. Then I expect to be addressed as SIR. I am distantly related to your Professor, same clan, different family. I think that is pretty much all the personal details we need to go over. I understand you have had some mind healing done as well as some surgeries. I have been fully briefed on all your medical records and of any problems that could arise in association with them. After you have finished with the plastic surgeons Troy and Walsh; we will begin our training, when we return we will gather any things you might need that we can obtain here. August 30th we will make the return trip to England, gather the remaining supplies you will need for school and then we will all board the train on September 1st."

"I don't even know what classes I am allowed to take. I haven't got my scores yet."

"It doesn't matter. The classes that are necessary you will take, I will cover most of the next two years anyway in our training sessions and cover all the courses you will need. It will be in-depth enough that you could sit your NEWTs for them if you choose to do so. I also plan to catch you up on anything that wasn't covered by your Professors and the classes you didn't take, like Arithmancy and Ancient Runes."

"Do you know which classes you expect me to take?"

"I want you to drop Divinations, completely useless, C.o.M.C and Astronomy. While it is useful in certain aspects, star charts will not keep you alive in a fight. I do expect you to stay in Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Defense and Herbology. We will cover Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and Care of Magical creatures in our sessions. I will not expect essays on anything I teach, the only written work you do will be in the subjects that require translations or calculations, I will look them over but I will not collect them. I fully expect you to be able to write essays on the lessons we cover and you will have to orally defend the answers to any question I may ask you. If I deem your answers acceptable we may move on, if not…may God have mercy on your soul."

He smiled just slightly. While Harry knew this was another joke. He also knew that he never wanted to answer a question that this man didn't find acceptable. He was hoping that he got high enough scores on his OWLs to take the classes this man expected of him, he was worried about Potions though.

"I have a few other skills I plan for you to learn, and may sometimes have guests during our training sessions but we can talk more about this later after I have seen what you are really capable of."

Harry wasn't sure if he was looking forward to the next day or not.


	10. Chapter 10

The next day found Harry once again in the office of Troy and Walsh. They seemed very excited, whatever they had found seemed to please them immensely. Harry was glad as it seemed he would finally be able to get his wish.

After a bit of fanfare, the produced a vial with a sickly green liquid inside. Harry felt his stomach drop, a potion. That was their big find. He felt his mood quickly drop.

"Usually this potion is used on clients who wish to change their gender, either temporarily or on a permanent basis. It is a type of Metamorphic potion allowing for a single change of appearance instead of being able to change at will. This one has been altered slightly, so that instead of making the drinker in to the opposite gender, it will give them the appearance of the secret added ingredient. In this case we added Essence of Incubi, not something easy to obtain, and very costly but the effort will be worth the reward."

"Essence of Incubi?"

"Don't ask. It will basically give you the physical representation of an Incubus, since you are only half, you have some of their looks but are clearly human, in fact, only your eyes give you away as a Cambion. We don't know if the potion would be strong enough to allow you to alter that identifying mark or not so we have a few back up plans in place."

"So I will just look like a better version of me?"

"Not exactly, you see as a Cambion you display certain characteristics of your kind. However, some can just be human genetics, your hair is black but so is your Father's hair, so we can't say that is an Incubi trait, and we don't really know exactly what an Incubus looks like it is hard to determine exactly how you will look, the only thing we do know is that we want you to pick an eye color and attempt to force your change to adapt to that particular color."

"Why?"

"The green your eyes is now is too noticeable, and since you shared it with your mother, it could be an Incubus/ Succubus thing and more importantly it could be an way for people to see through your disguise, so were thinking anything but green.

"Give me a minute to think and I will be ready. Any side effects?"

"Not that we know of, but we haven't ever altered it like this before."

"I know what color I want."

"Good, good. Focus your mind on that color, see it in your mind. Make sure you don't lose it."

Harry quickly drank the potion keeping all of his thoughts on the stormy grey he had seen so often in Sirius' eyes, and more recently into Rosaleen's.

Harry could feel a strange pulsing feeling that rippled through his body much like the Polyjuice in second year. It stopped after a few moments and he quickly grinned at the Doctors and Rosaleen. The next thing he knew the floor was rushing up to meet him.

When he woke sometime later he was back in the hotel room and he could hear several voices speaking rapidly in the next room. They were indistinct and hard to make out but he would tell that everyone was in the next room with the exception of McGonagall.

He tried to make out what they were saying but quickly gave up. Carefully sitting up, he tested his legs before standing and making his way towards the door. He caught a glipse of movement to his right and stopped dead when he caught site of himself in the mirror.

He knew it was him because he was in the room alone, but it was too beautiful to be him. The man before him was tall, broad shouldered, handsome, with think inky black hair, it was the same length as before but somehow less wild. He looked more mature, checking his eyes he was at first disappointed, they were not like Sirius' or even Rosaleen's eyes, they were less cloudy and more like charcoal, just a shade or two lighter than black. Even with this revelation he wasn't disappointed, he attempted to morph back into regular Harry.

The change happened in the blink of an eye but something was different, off. He didn't look as he had that morning, he was somewhere between his new self and the old, still recognizable as Harry Potter but still better looking than he had been upon waking. He hoped he could attribute it to a growth spurt, he was filling out a little and had grown an inch or so since he had been eating well this summer. Ron would believe it easily, but would Hermione?

He quickly shifted back to the new self, this body felt more comfortable, more relaxed. He felt confident in this body and couldn't wait to introduce it to everyone. This thought quickly brought him to a halt. He couldn't introduce himself. If he did then having a new look would completely defeat the purpose, could he create an alternative personality? Someone different from himself and what he was suppose to be.

He studied himself in the mirror. He wanted to be someone different and now he was. He wanted to be freer, more confident, darker. He looked the part but now he needed to act it. A new name, and attitude would be in order. He thought over those he knew who would he want to be like. He loved Sirius, but he was too much of a joker, Remus too quiet… after he had exhausted his friends he looked to his enemies. Malfoy senior was too cold, Lestrange too crazy. He would never act like Voldemort or Snape. His thoughts shifted to Malfoy Junior, No, not like him either. However, he could pull off cool, aloof, Slytherin. He would be the opposite of Harry Potter, the anti-Harry, only without the evil and blood-purity thing.

Since he had been attempting Occlumency with Isabelle and had the mind healing sessions he felt more relaxed. He hoped it lasted and he could keep the impulsiveness and hotheadedness at bay. He didn't want to go back to those moody, dark days.

His plan would need refining, he was hoping to use his new look to help the war efforts and try to turn some of the Slytherins from the Dark side, but could he just waltz in and convince them to turn against their families and a life time of beliefs. He could pull off the arrogance and he had the wealth but did he have the charisma and leadership skills to save them, even if he only saved one it would be worth it.

His thoughts turned towards his friends, could he balance a double life, have his golden-boy Gryffindor self and his Slytherin side; could he merge them or would one of them have to go. Did he want to give up his friends… to save his enemies? Were they really his friends or for that matter are the Slytherins really his enemies? If he couldn't convince them to join the Light side could he manage to convince them to stay neutral, if they didn't fight for them at least they wouldn't be fighting against them, and that was better than nothing, right?

He was still so confused. It had all seemed easy when he was just Harry Potter wanting to be someone else and change the world. Now that he was someone else, all of his fantasy plans could become a reality if he could just manage to find ways of achieving them.

He needed to organize. He needed a new name. He would use the surname of Black, so that was out of the way, he could tell everyone that Rosaleen's husband was his mother's brother, Uncle Declan. Simple enough. The Blacks often used Stars to name their children, and maybe constellations. He went looking for an astronomy book.

He poured over the many names and after some further thought did a few internet searches on names he thought sounded Pure-blooded. He had like Orion, it reminded him of Sirius, but it also contained the star Bellatrix and he didn't want to be associated with her. He looked through several of his other school books and found a few names he liked from some of the new books he had picked up, one in particular entitles Muggle Myths- Legends, Lies, and Lives. It was a rather thick book detailing different myths and legends and whether they were fiction, based on fact, or wizards and witches who were performing magic in front of Muggle witnesses. Harry was surprised to learn that many of the gods and goddess' of the ancient times were really ordinary witches and wizards. Bast, the Egyptian cat goddess was really a witch who got stuck in the middle of an animagus transformation, and Zeus was really a wizard who used Compulsion and Memory charms to have dozens of children. Harry loved this book, mostly because it had provided him with his new name.

Tarquin Aries Black.


	11. Chapter 11

Harry finally opened the door to his room and as soon as the others caught sight of him, all conversation ceased. He found that he didn't shy away from the attention as he usually did, perhaps because he finally understood why someone would want to look at him. He had never really cared about his appearance before but even he could admit he wasn't bad looking now that he had undergone the surgeries.

"Harry!" chorused through the room. Followed by "Are you okay?" and "How are you?"

Harry smiled at all these people who cared about him and were doing their best to help him live the life he had always wanted.

"I am fine, better than fine. I have decided on a new name for myself to go with my new identity and outlook. After careful consideration I have picked Tarquin Aries Black."

Rosaleen beamed in pleasure that he had taken her maiden name and the others all seemed to like the change.

"Aries?" Isabelle questioned.

"Most of the Blacks have named their sons and daughters after stars and constellations. I went through them all and finally picked the one I thought best suited to the battles ahead."

She nodded in understanding. Smiling happily at him, despite meeting her only a short time ago he felt she would have been much like his own grandmother, or at least he hoped his grandmother would have been like her.

How much better his life would have been if he had someone to turn to besides the Dursleys or if his parents had lived. He could barely remember them and yet he still missed them every day. Shaking off useless regrets he smiled at his new friends.

"So where are we in our game plan? Now that the surgeries are finished and I am mind-healed?"

"Training" Cato spoke up. Harry startled not even realizing he was in the room. He would have to be careful around this man, he had been reassured this man was trust worthy but he still gave him the creeps. "I have had your elf, gather everything we will need, and he has agreed to come along with us, while the other stays here and prepares for our return."

Harry nodded. He was secretly glad that Dobby was coming along and he wouldn't be completely along with this man. He was surprised how jittery he felt, he had faced Voldemort and Death Eaters, this man was here to help him, but he still couldn't trust him. He would have to feel Cato out, see if he was worth trusting.

"I had the elf pack a special trunk, it has everything you will need. We will be leaving as soon as I double check everything. I suggest you say your farewells."

He quickly left the room, closing the door behind him. Harry stood in shocked silence for several minutes before swiftly moving through the room hugging everyone, even Winky.

"I know it will only be a few days for all of you, but I don't know how long I will be gone for. I hate to have to leave even if you won't have time to miss me." He joked.

"Be careful. Listen to McGonagall, he is the best at what he does, and you will learn lots from him." Rosaleen hugged him again, reluctant to let go. "Everything will be fine, we will all be busy working on the next part of the plan, it might even be finished by the time you return."

"Time to go." Harry turned to Cato, everyone wished him luck and he quickly moved into the next room. "Loop this around your neck."

Harry studied the Time Turner, it wasn't like the one Hermione had. It was much larger and seemed ancient. It was gold, about the half the size of a hour glass. It was actually beautiful, beautifully crafted.

"I thought all the Time Turners were destroyed in the Department of Mysteries?"

"Those were, in the Time room, there are others. In other parts of the Ministry and a few that are privately owned. This is a special one, allowing someone to go back more than a few hours. Only a few let you go back as this one does, the Unspeakables were studying it." Cato seemed distracted. He quickly shrunk all the boxes and trunks, placing them in his pocket. Calling Dobby, he quickly looped the chain around his neck as well and began turning the dial.

This wasn't like the time he traveled with Hermione. It was more like the swirling and squeezing of a Portkey. He briefly had time to wonder what would happen when they landed into the past in a hotel room that anyone could be in. 'I guess they would be obliviated' he mused. It seemed to take forever for the swirling to end, like Alice falling down the rabbit hole.

He was brought back to the present when he hit the ground. He was surprised to find himself lying in the sand next to the ocean. He quickly looked around. McGonagall had his wand out and was searching around them, feeling uneasy and reminded of the third task Harry quickly followed suit. Dobby was grasping Harry's leg and peering around suspiciously.

"Is we not where we should be, Harry Potter?" Dobby whispered. His large eyes never left the surrounding hills.

"No, Dobby. I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." Harry replied grimly. Dobby stared at Harry in incomprehension before retuning his gaze to the surrounding area. Harry slowly inched his was towards their other companion, keeping his voice low and crouching just slightly.

"What happened? Where are we?"

"If I had to guess… Italy or maybe Greece. Not where we are suppose to be. I don't know what happened, it was set to a predetermined safe house and a certain date. I am not even sure how far off the time line we actually are. We need to find someone, find out where and when we are." He had barely finished speaking when Dobby let out a piercing shriek and started pointing up the hillside.

Harry barely had time to turn before a large black shape knocked him to the ground. It started licking him in the face and was shaking in a excited manner. Harry could tell it was a friendly but other than that couldn't identify the animal.

McGonagall pulled the animal off of him and he got his first good look at the over excited creature. It was a large black dog… a very familiar looking dog. It was a Grimm.

"Sirius?"

The dog barked happily and jump on Harry again. It licked him several times before bouncing off, barking loudly. He moved towards the hillside. Harry then noticed the path leading upwards. Shaking his head to clear it, he began to follow the dog up the hillside, Dobby and McGonagall following closely behind.

"Sirius… How are you alive? Why didn't you come back? Have you been here the whole time? I thought you were dead, I missed you."

The dog stopped and stared at Harry. It whined pitifully and licked his hand, before moving once more. They climbed forever, eventually the landscape leveled out and they found themselves in a forest. The dog kept moving, trotting at a sedate pace, easy enough for even Dobby to keep up.

The forest began to thin little by little until they found themselves in a large clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a large building, built like a Greek temple, the roof held up by columns. They moved cautiously towards the opening in the walls surrounding the temple.

The courtyard was filled with animals. Lions, Tigers, Bears, Wolves, and an assortment of farm animals, monkeys, it was almost like Noah's ark. The animals were all strangely docile. Lazing about in the sun and sleeping. Since none of the animals moved to defend against their entry they cautiously made their way inside. At first it appeared empty but as they made their way down the steps into the temple several women came out to greet them.

They laid all manner of food and drink on a table set with a blood red cloth. None of the women spoke but they silently gestured Harry and Cato to eat. Bringing large chairs painted gold and inlaid with precious gems, just like the cups set before them.

Cato and Harry stared at each other in confusion, it was almost as if they were expected. Cato quickly waved his wand over the plate in front of him and his goblet. When the spell detected no potions or poison, he shrugged at Harry and began to eat.

Harry lifted his glass but before he drank had the strangest sense of Deja-vu. This was somehow very familiar, he had never been here before but he couldn't shake the feeling. He took a drink of a reddish substance, it was surprisingly good. Honeyed mead he assumed, he was just about to ask Cato, when Cato took a large drink and immediately turned into a very large Bear.

Harry's heart slowed to a stop when he recognized the scene. He had read about this in school, and remembered this moment. Just as he jumped to his feet a beautiful redhead with green eyes stepped into the room. Their eyes immediately met. She smiled disarmingly.

"Only one animal? Oh no. I have enough Bears."

"Circe!?"


	12. Chapter 12

They stared at each other in total silence. Nothing moved not even the multitude of animals swarming the courtyard. She inclined her head in acceptance of his statement before smiling brightly and moving towards him.

"It is very rude to be late, let alone eight years late. Where is your mother?"

"What?"

"Your Mother? The woman who carried you for nine months, gave you life… pushed you out of her…"

"I get it! My mother is dead."

The smile immediately left Circe's face. She stared at him for a long moment. She turned her attention to Sirius, who whined and tucked his tail between his legs before she looked over at the bear that had been Cato and returned her attention to Harry.

"I am very sorry to hear that. Lily had been one of my favorites. I didn't know her life would be so short when she left my island."

"I am a little confused here. I was supposed to be going to a safe house for training. Instead I ended up here, where I run into my dead godfather, my trainer is turned into a bear and I meet a Sorceress/Goddess from legends. What the hell is going on?"

"I will begin with myself and explain everything from there, okay?"

Harry nodded and made his way to the table, he carefully moved around Cato and took a seat several down from him, Circe followed and sat in the seat beside him. Once they were comfortable she began.

"I am a demigod, my domain was sorcery. I spent many years carefully crafting this island, where I exist outside of time. Time here moves at my pleasure. I am almost entirely cut off from the outside world. Only a few have ever found their way here by accident, you have heard of Odysseus? Yes. Well he was one of them. A few creatures are capable of finding my island. Oceanids, Nymphs, etc. The various water spirits and other demigods, gods and goddesses and my own special creations, which of course are Incubi, Succubi, and their offspring, Cambions.

Harry nodded, that was how they were granted access, he was the one who brought them here.

"What about him?" He points to Sirius.

"I had given my devotees a few ways in which to come to my island. I would send them out, they would find out about the world, live in it for a while and then return here, bringing everything they felt I would be amused by. One of the ways was an object, a hourglass necklace, what you now call a Time-turner. The other was a stone Archway. As I understand it, the Archway is now used to punish criminals, all those who pass through the veil that are not descended from the creatures I mentioned are turned into animals and are forced to live here eternally. Possibly a fitting punishment for their crimes. The food upon the table serves the same purpose, it is for guests that find their way here without my permission."

She seemed to be waiting for Harry to catch up. Smiling gently. Harry studied her, she looked a bit like his mother, pale skin, reddish hair, green eyes so much like his own. Doctor Walsh was right, the eyes were a inherited trait from his kind.

"Can you fix them?" He indicated Sirius and Cato.

"Yes, should I wish too. The bear is simple, the dog…not so much."

"Why?"

"He changed as he passed through the veil, he changed himself. I am not sure what would happen if I attempted to force him back. I have never had one that could change their selves before."

"So it is just the animagus ability keeping him a dog?"

"Animagus? Is that what you call it? Yes, I assume so."

Harry studied Sirius again. Looking anywhere but at Circe.

"Why were you expecting me? I didn't even know I was supposed to be here. How can I have been late?"

"When did your mother die?"

"A little more than a year after I was born, I was like fifteen months."

"So she never got to tell you anything. I assume that means you know nothing at all."

"I just learned I was a Cambion a few days ago when I wasn't affected by a Veela."

Circe nodded. She looked like she wanted to question him further but began to explain.

"When an Cambion reaches seven years of age, they are brought to my island, where I train them in the magical arts. I also help them to gain control of their powers and understand the limits of their various abilities until they are of age to go to school, in your case Hogwarts. Since you have not been trained who knows of your abilities, who trained you and what are your powers?"

"Rosaleen, Isabelle and Arsinoe, they are the Veela. Cato and two house elves. No one. I don't have any."

"What? That isn't possible. Your mother was exceptionally gifted, had wonderful control and was a master of charms and potions."

"I must be a dud, then. I am a fairly average wizard. I had to take a potion to even look like a real Cambion."

"I saw you as a baby and there was no mistaking your heritage, you actually radiated power. How could that have all disappeared?"

"I don't know. I was hit by a killing curse?"

Circe stopped and stared at him in horror. Her mouth repeated the words killing curse several times.

"I had the scar removed or I would show you, looked just like a lightning bolt."

"A lightning bolt?"

Her eyes began to shine strangely and she smiled at him again. Then nodded as if she understood completely.

"Yeah on my forehead. I just recently had the curse scar removed. Since then I haven't had any pain or visions of Voldemort."

"He is still alive? Is that how Lily…?"

"Died. Yeah. Halloween night he killed both my parents, gave me a scar, disappeared until my Forth year, killed a student, used my blood in a resurrection potion, hid out for a year, used visions to trick me into the ministry. I ended up getting my godfather killed, learning a prophesy and destroying half the department of mysteries. On the upside, Voldemort is once again back in the open and the Minster is helping me prepare." He points to Cato.

"That is a very interesting story, almost like a Greek epic." She smiled sweetly. He didn't see where or when she removed it but she waved a wand and Cato was once again sitting at the table, staring around in bewilderment. Circe made a sign with her hand and several beautiful maidens with oddly tinted hair moved in to take him into another room.

"Nymphs… they are taking him to rest. The hair is how you know what kind of water they protect."

Harry nodded dumbly.

"While you are here you will take lessons with both your trainer and myself. I will teach you everything I know, I have many skills but my strengths are in plants and herbs, potions. I can teach you things that the world had forgotten but you must take these lessons seriously. The day will be in three parts. I will teach you in the mornings, after lunch, Cato can train you. That will be until dinner, after dinner we will brew potions and then discuss lessons. May I have your hand?"

Slightly bemused by this question Harry gave her his hand. He wasn't prepared for the sudden pulling sensation. She held his hand tightly for several minutes. Harry started to panic as he felt his energy draining. But as suddenly as the pulling started it stopped and seemed to reverse. The feeling of energy began to move towards him until he felt restless under the pressure. Circe suddenly let go. While Harry came down off the adrenaline rush, she sat quietly with her eyes closed.

"What was that?"

She slowly opened her eyes, taking a moment to focus on him.

"An energy exchange. As a Cambion you can siphon energy off the life forms around you. It is usually a pull towards humans but sometimes other creatures. When you consume others energy you can learn all about them. I needed to understand your life and that is the quickest was to assimilate the knowledge of your life. It will also be how you will feed yourself when your full powers awaken and most importantly… it is how you will defeat Voldemort."

Harry wasn't sure how that would help him defeat Voldemort but he had wanted to be trained and now he was getting more training than he had ever bargained for.

"Tomorrow, we will begin by removing the block on your Cambion powers."


	13. Chapter 13

(Author's Note: To clear up any confusion, Circe is a Minor character. I needed the ability to manipulate time in such a way that Harry could learn several lifetimes of material in the single year he has gone back in time. Circe's island is perfect, and will allow for the powers and plot points of future chapters to be set up. I am sorry for the confusion, but I hope it doesn't detract from the story.)

Harry was awoken early the next morning just as the sun rose. A pretty green haired Nymph smiled shyly and led him to a small room where a table sat prepared for three. Circe was already waiting for him and Cato followed him in a few seconds later. They ate in silence, focusing on the meal.

After the food was finished Circe briefly explained everything she had told Harry last night and the schedule she had planned. After he agreed and they discussed the levels of training they would begin with she excused Harry and herself.

She led him down several flights of stairs and deep into the hill on which her temple sat. They entered a fairly spacious room, brightly lit despite their being no windows and she indicated for him to sit on the pile of pillows placed on an ornate rug in the center of the room. She quickly warded the room with a spell he didn't recognize and sat across from him.

Circe began to lead him through the relaxation techniques of meditation. She explained that once he was relaxed she would remove the block slowly until his full powers were available.

Harry sat quietly going through the breathing exercises and feeling stupid. Waiting for her to begin. He feared another invasion like Snape's and tried not to tense in anticipation.

Unable to resist he opened his eyes. Circe was deep into a trance and very focused. Harry while calm and relaxed didn't think he was doing very well. Finally deciding to fake it he closed his eyes once more and attempted to focus on clearing his mind as Isabelle taught him to do.

A few moments later Circe was shaking him gently. Harry opened his eyes and she was smiling softly.

"How do you feel."

"Relaxed. I think I finally cleared my mind, I think I could do it again. Do you want to try to remove the block?"

"I already have. It was a little difficult at first but once you began to actually try to calm yourself it was very easy. It won't take as long tomorrow to reach that state. Lets head back for lunch."

"Lunch is hours away." Harry said just as his stomach growled. Circe laughed.

"We are actually over an hour late. It is after one already."

They headed back upstairs and found their selves in the same room as before once again laid out for three. Cato sat reading a giant tomb. Harry tired to see the cover but it was written in Hieroglyphs and he couldn't make it out.

"A little light reading?" He jested to Cato.

"A little." Cato replied.

"Don't laugh. That book is very special, you will be reading it yourself soon. Memorizing it cover to cover." Circe shared a smile with Cato.

"What book is it?"

"The Book of Thoth. One of my followers was an Archaeologist and recovered that book from the Prince Neferkaptah in Necropolis. A very powerful text."

Harry gulped his mead almost choking on the amount of reading he would have to do. He wished Hermione was here, she would have it read in a day or two and then he wouldn't have to. He sighed, despite his anger at them, he was beginning to miss his friends.

"It won't be that bad. Most of it is practical work. The usage of the spell is more important than the facts but I do want you to carefully read it, the processes they used with help you in the future especially in creating new spells and combining them to fit your needs."

Circe had a quiet conversation with Cato before they left on his section of the days training. Cato had him perform every spell he knew and recite every spell he had ever heard of. After a couple hours of this they moved on to his other classes.

"Since Circe knows Herbology and Potions, we have decided that she will handle those subjects and I will cover the others. We will cover the more important ones now, and move on to the other once you have a handle on them.

They began with Defense, then Charms and ended with Transfiguration. After a few more hours Harry felt like he was about to fall over, when they finally left for dinner. Dinner was silent as Harry tried not to fall asleep. After they had finished Circe placed her hand on the back of Harry's neck and he felt the sensation of energy flowing into him again.

He smiled weakly and followed her into her potions lab while the energy coursed through his body. She had him rebrew several potions from his first year. Ones that he had either failed to complete or had been ruined by things thrown from the Slytherins.

They also discussed how he felt and his lessons with Cato.

The next few weeks passed in a similar fashion. Harry would wake up, over breakfast the three of them would discuss what he had read the night before. Circe an he would meditate, and remove a little more of the block. He would practice with Cato, brew with Circe, discuss lessons, and then read until going to sleep.

One day when he and Circe had finished their meditation for the day he came back to himself to find her beaming at him. Knowing what that mean he smiled in return, the block was gone and he would soon learn if he had any real power.

That afternoon with Cato he began to notice it. He was more powerful, his stamina was improved and he was faster than before. That night over brewing he told Circe of the changes he had already noticed.

"Just like your mother. She had a gift in both study and practice. "

"If she was so powerful… how come she died?"

"The block she placed on you. That spell is very old and is not recommended because it takes weeks to recover your strength. She must have thought you were in a safe place to even attempt it. Usually they bring their children here to cast it and only return to the mortal realm once they are fully recovered. She knew I could remove it but I think she had planned to remove it herself once you were safe again. The power you gave off as an infant would have been felt at a distance. She must have feared Voldemort's ability to sense it. Only with age can you mask your power, and since you were more powerful than her, she couldn't hide it."

"Why didn't she return here?"

"When she brought you the as a baby she had told me how bad things were getting in your world. She even asked if your family could escape here if needed. I agreed but she never returned. I don't know what she didn't. Perhaps she couldn't get to the Time-turner or the Arch. "

"Then it is my fault she died?"

"I wouldn't agree with that. If she had wanted to she could have transported herself here. She even could have brought you, but that would mean leaving your father and she loved him too much to do that. Succubi almost never find a real mate. Her love for your father was so uniquely Lily. I doubt it will ever be repeated, unless you take after her." She winked flirtatiously.

Harry went to bed that night thinking about what he had read but the conversation about his parents kept interrupting. He was comforted by the fact that his mother was so selfless that she would be willing to stay with his father even though she could hace disappeared without a trace. He wished she had been able to transport them that night, but because of the spell she didn't have the power, still even severely crippled she still stood up to Voldemort and protected her child. Harry had never been prouder to be her son.

Months flew by. After completing all the work from his first five years of school and anything that could be covered in the last two they moved on to other things. Cato taught him everything from both the Auror and Unspeakable program. Circe taught him everything she knew about plants and herb, they covered every potion he had ever heard of and hundreds he hadn't.

He read hundreds of books, learned several languages. Siphoned energy from every life form on the island. He even learned to swim and surf. Despite the grueling lessons and having Cato make him run laps and lift weights, Harry was having the time of his life. He dreaded the thought of going back and he was running out of time. The year was almost up.

What he would miss the most is spending time with Sirius. He was still in his dog form but they spend every day together. When Harry went running, Sirius would race him, when he went to bed at night, Sirius was sleeping on the foot of his bed. He would miss Sirius, now more than every but at least this time Sirius would be alive, free in a beautiful place, and Harry could come back and see him.

The next morning Harry examined himself in the mirror. He was a real Cambion now. The look the potion had given him was a pale imitation. Harry was more powerful, more handsome, more dangerous than he could have every hoped but would it be enough.

Cato and Harry spent the last few months leaning the Dark Arts. Harry knew how to cast and counter most spells the Death Eaters would use. Circe had taught him how to control his abilities and use the ones that had shown up, but she wasn't coming with him and his powers were not fully developed, only some of them had awakened and he feared what it would mean when they did.

It was time though. He had run out of it, learned all he could and it would have to be enough because they were leaving, tomorrow.

Harry spent the whole night talking with Sirius, about everything. Dreading the dawn and knowing inevitably it was coming. Time to go back to reality and face the challenges ahead. Phase Three of his plans would begin the moment he returned.


	14. Chapter 14

After watching the sun come up with Sirius, Harry slowly made his way to the breakfast room. Circe was there alone this morning. Staring out into the courtyard in silent contemplation. She smiled brightly when he entered.

"How much you have matured these last few years. How handsome you are. I think your parents would be very proud of you, and how hard you have worked. I have never before taught so much in so short a time. I will miss you very much."

She was a little teary eyed and she hugged him tightly. She wiped her eyes and turned back towards the table.

"Even though your Cambion powers are awakened you are not invulnerable. So to aide you in your fight against the Dark side, I have gifts for you."

She had several items bought in by the Nymphs. She had calmed herself from her earlier outburst and was once again smiling. She held up several items of clothing made of a strange, buttery soft leather. Harry looked up in question.

" Leviathan hide. It is physically impenetrable, it will protect you against any weapon. It is like Dragon hide but stronger, so it will deflect all but the most powerful spells."

"So, I will be safe from most of the Death Eaters but not Voldemort."

"Essentially. I also have a few robes for you. Two for everyday wear and one for battles. They have a very special blend of fibers, Acromantula Silk and the Mane from a Nemean Lion. Like the clothes it will protect you against most physical attacks, add an extra layer of spell protection and keep you warm or cool depending on the time of year. The silk makes it comfortable and it breaths but it is still tough."

The robes were beautiful. A deep black, soft to the touch like his invisibility cloak but he could feel the protection spells that had been weaved into it, along with its own natural defenses. Circe had cast most of them herself. Harry smiled at the time and effort she must had put into these gifts.

"My final gift is very special. I made this myself."

She held up a ring. White gold with a red stone set inside. He took the ring examining it closer. The stone seemed to have some kind of liquid inside it.

"It will give you two advantages. It can bring you here, you can either activate it by saying my name or if you are too badly hurt it will immediately Portkey you back. It will also allow you to communicate with animals."

"Thank you." It was in this moment that he realized she loved him. She wanted to protect him from his mother's fate. "I love you too."

She smiled brightly and hugged him again.

"You are going to be just fine, Harry."

"I know."

Cato took this moment to join them. Looking over their teary faces he raised an eyebrow and started eating his breakfast. Circe signaled to the Nymphs again and they brought in several books, setting them down next to Cato. He smiled in thanks and continued eating but Harry knew that he too would miss Circe and the island.

After breakfast Harry gathered all his belongings and stood in silence saying good bye to everything. Sirius whined at the foot of the bed. Patting his head and hugging him briefly, Harry turned and began to drag his trunk towards the door. Sirius followed slowly behind him.

When they reached the main room everyone was waiting for them. Cato and Dobby were already wearing the Time-turner. Harry hugged Circe again and put the chain around his neck.

"I think you are forgetting something."

"What?"

"Or rather someone?"

Harry stared in incomprehension. Circe gestured to Sirius.

"I think he has been punished enough for being a reckless guardian, don't you?"

Harry's eyes filled with tears as Sirius barked happily. Nodding, Harry knelt and hooked the chain around Sirius. Turning it over, Harry a brief moment to wave before the was once again spiraling through time.

They landed once more in the middle of the hotel suite that belonged to Cato. Harry laughed seeing that Sirius was sprawled across the floor and Dobby, while he had remained upright. Pulling the dog off the small elf, he helped Dobby to stand. Dobby then immediately disappeared to find Winky, while Cato and Harry sorted their belongings. They then moved back into the other rooms where Isabelle, Arsinoe and Rosaleen waited impatiently.

The three jumped to their feet when they entered all rushing to hug him, even Cato got a hugged. Harry quickly moved them all back into a seated position and told them everything that had happened including Sirius.

Sirius took that moment to morph back into a man. Even knowing that he was Sirius Black, Arsinoe still let out a small shriek. The others quickly filled Harry in on the things that had been happening in the two days since they had gone back into time. Everything was going smoothly. Harry had even returned three days before he was scheduled, they had a full five days before the train would leave for Hogwarts.

Harry decided to see if Sirius wanted to take the same potion he had for a new body and once he had Sirius permission, he contacted Doctor Walsh who promised to create a potion for Sirius.

"How is the Hogwart's situation?"

"Well, we have had contact, and while it looks like we will have things go our way, there are some reservations on the other side. "

"I think Sirius will help with that issue. Contact them again, tell them we have another member of our team. I think that will remove any reservations they may have. Don't mention his name, most of them are familiar with him."

Rosaleen nodded and went off to contact Hogwarts. Harry moved over beside Cato and Isabelle. She briefly checked his mind and smiled to fine no damage and the block completely gone.

"Sirius, since you are back with us and will soon have a new appearance I wondered if you were interested in helping us with the next part of my plan?"

"Of course. Do bears pee in the woods?"

"Gross, but yes they do. All right. I plan to have extra staff at Hogwarts this year. Staff trained in fighting and healing techniques. Cato with teach the NEWT level students in defense, Isabelle will teach Mind healing. Rosaleen is going to be running the Werewolf safe house with Remus. Arsinoe will be assisting Isabelle and Madam Pomfrey. I hope either you or Cato will resume the D.A."

"What will you be doing?"

Harry looked momentarily puzzled. "I don't know."

"I think you could assist Sirius and I, when your not in classes. I have taught you a lot and so has Circe, but there are several Masters at Hogwarts and I think you could benefit from their teachings."

"I hope you don't mean Snape."

"Snape is a Potions Master. He can teach you things that Circe and I don't have the knowledge or skill for. McGonagall can teach you to become an Animagus. Despite your progress you still need work in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Plus it wouldn't hurt to learn healing from Poppy."

"How will that work?"

"We will work it out with the Professors. When they have a free period or in the evenings they can work with you. I think actually attending Ancient Runes and Arithmancy would be good for you, will keep you connected to the students, and you could run the D.A. yourself."

"Okay. As soon as Sirius is set we should hit Diagon alley. Then we can arrive with the other teachers and ask about special training. What will I do about NEWTs. As Tarquin, I have no OWLs. "

"I already spoke to the Minister about that when he first approached me for the job. I think you should take the NEWTs, so you can be an Assistant Professor and then you can focus on special training instead of tests. I will make a call, set up NEWTs for Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Magical Creatures, and Defense. The others you can take in two years with the rest of your class."

Two days later Sirius was in the office of Doctor Walsh, staring in disapproval at the same green potion Harry had taken. With his usual rush in attitude he quickly drained it. The effects were instantaneous. He kept his height and build. His face changed, subtle but enough that someone wouldn't recognize him, his eyes became a warm ocher color, a few shades darker than Remus'. His hair lightened to a dark brown.

"Wow. New you is looking good. Have you considered what your name will be?"

"I haven't really through about it. I need something that sounds official without being traceable. I can't keep Black. My line is too well documented for me to be another missing heir." He mussed Harry's neater hair.

"I got it. Helios Orion Grymm." He smiled and barked out a laugh.

"Really Grymm. Don't you think that is something Hermione will figure out?"

"She thinks I am dead. A lot of Wizard's have weird names."

"If she sees a large Grimm like dog running around?"

"I will be careful. I won't really have a need to transform, I will keep my two feet on the floor, like a good boy." He laughed at his own joke and Harry reluctantly smiled.

They headed back to the hotel to pack. Tomorrow they would return to England. After that back to Hogwarts. Harry was a mixture of delight and dread. He wanted to go home but was afraid all his carefully laid plans would fall apart. He couldn't fail, not now.


	15. Chapter 15

The next day was a flurry of activity. They had three days until they were scheduled to take the train to Hogwarts and they still needed to gather their supplies. Harry would be taking his NEWTs on August 30. The Minster promised he would have his results the next day. Since they had different goals and destinations the group had decide to separate. Rosaleen took one of the recently repaired enchanted Mirrors and headed off to the Werewolf house. She would manage things there and keep an eye on the outside world for Harry while he was at Hogwarts.

The others quickly made their way to Diagon Alley, obtained rooms at the Leaky Cauldron and then set off to buy all the supplies they would need. Harry needed a new wardrobe, the one he bought in America he had outgrown while on the island. He bought everything and paid extra so that all his clothes would fit perfectly over the Leviathan skin given to him by Circe. He changed and checked himself in the mirrors. It was impossible to tell he had on multiple layers. Madam Malkin was a genius. Everything would be sent to his room when it was finished.

After finishing his clothes. He quickly made the usual school rounds, collecting everything he would need. He also picked up a new backpack that had multiple compartments like his trunk, it could carry loads of stuff and wouldn't allow anything like potions vials to break. Once the usual things were taken care of he went to the book store, picking up the books he needed for school and anything that caught his eye.

He only had two more stops to make before he returned to his room. Since he was already in Diagon Alley he decided to go to Ollivander's first. He entered the dusty old shop and it was just as he remembered.

Ollivander appeared quite suddenly but this time Harry was expecting him and didn't flinch.

"Back again I see. Trouble? No…no. Something more powerful hmmm?"

Harry nodded. Watching Ollivander, trying to decide how he predicted people so well.

"I have a bit of a gift myself. A special kind of magic."

'Old man is just mind reading creepy' Harry thought. 'Hear that?'

Ollivander hemmed again and continued moving boxes around in no apparent order. After an eternity of shuffling boxes, he finally selected a handful and brought them to the counter.

Harry picked up the first wand.

"Hazel, Unicorn Hair, 10 1/2 inches."

Harry waved it but the wand didn't warm to his touch though it did emit red sparks. Ollivander took the want back and Harry picked up the next one.

"Cypress, Dragon Heart string. 12 inches."

Harry set the wand back into the box. Picking up the third wand.

"Aspen, Phoenix feather, 13 1/2 inches."

Harry placed the wand back in the box. It had warmed but he didn't feel the connection. He looked over the boxes that were left and removed the Yew wand completely. He didn't want Yew, he really didn't want Phoenix feathers either. Nothing of his old life.

"Pine, Hippocampus scales 11 inches"

"Acadia, Hydra Heartstrings, 15 inches."

"Apple, Griffin feathers, 12 inches"

Harry was getting frustrated it was almost as long as the first time around. He was about to bang his head against the counter when Ollivander once again wondered into the shelves.

"I wonder. A curious combination. The only one in the store."

Harry almost started yelling profanities. They were going to relive his first visit. He wondered if Ollivander planned this whole "Curious, I wonder" speech as a gimmick to remain mysterious.

He returned and handed Harry a dark colored wand. Harry grasped it and just as the first time his hand radiated warmth and it sent gold and silver sparks into the air. This want was much more powerful than his first wand.

"Curious?" Harry asked Ollivander. He smirked at the sly smile Ollivander offered him.

"Indeed. Very Curious. As I told you before I remember every wand I have ever sold. That particular wand has been in this shop for ages. Not even a tiny spark to any other customer. Then again, only one other had tried it."

"Go on."

"It was Lily Evans, or Lily Potter as you probably know her. Most curious combination indeed. Teak, a very unusual wood. Seldom use it. Just a handful of times in my life.

"The Core?"

"Very strange, indeed. A Spirit Owl. I got it off of her when she first showed up in the Magical Menagerie, the Proprietor was hoping I would buy her, not a very friendly bird. Seems to have improved with age. Tell her I said "Hi."

"What?"

"The white bird? The one that carries your mail? Mistaken as a Snowy Owl. I believe her name is Hedwig? She is actually a Spirit Owl. Didn't you ever notice she was exceptionally bright, smarter than the others?"

"I thought that was personal bias."

"Oh no. She is quite a rare specimen. Even more so because they are not native to Europe. She travelled a long way to wait for you in that shop. Might want to thank her for her patience, and the feathers."

Ollivander smiled, took the eight galleons, and wondered back to the shelves. Harry put his new wand in his arm holster and secured his old one in the hidden pocket of his cloak. He would need a way to hide it from detection but he would worry about that later.

He quickly moved out of Ollivander's annoyed at all the time he spent to find a new wand. Walking brusquely he was surprised to walk into a wall, that happened to be breathing.

Stumbling backwards, a meaty fist grasped his arm and waited until he was steady. Righting himself he came face to face with most of the sixth year Slytherins. Goyle was the wall, Crabbe seemed to be missing.

Apologizing quickly he surveyed the remaining Slytherins. Greengrass, Bulstrode, Zabini, and Malfoy all stood looking him over coolly. Both female Slytherins were giving him appraising looks while the males all seemed to be determining their level of hostility.

He was saved from any argument when another female Slytherin joined them. Astoria Greengrass barreled into Harry from the side as she exited the store they were standing in front of. Harry caught her gently. She quickly apologized and meeting Harry's eyes she blushingly introduced herself.

"Astoria" She then introduced the rest of her group.

"Tarquin Aries"

"Last name?" Daphne demanded nastily.

Harry looked her over with barely concealed disdain.

"Not that it is any of your business, but it is Black." The effect was instantaneous. All of them seemed to thaw slightly. It seemed even being a disowned Black, was better than not being a Pureblood.

"Are you aware that your family fortune is in the hands of a Half-blood Muggle lover?" Zabini asked.

"I am. The Black fortune is no matter, I have plenty of my own money." Seeing their approval at his implied wealth Harry knew he could do this, he could be a princely Pureblood.

"It is nice meeting all of you but I have some business to attend to." He walked past them heading for the dark alley just past them, when he heard Astoria call out to him.

"Will we see you at Hogwarts?"

"At the Sorting." He replied before he disappeared down Nocturne Alley. He heard Zabini ask Malfoy… "Why not on the train?"

Harry quickly moved through the various stores picking up various items from Dark Arts books, communicator mirrors and even a cursed necklace. Once he had all his purchases he returned to his hotel room. He only had about 18 hours to become accustomed to his new wand before he took his NEWTS.


	16. Chapter 16

It took surprising little time to become accustomed to a new wand. Perhaps because he and Hedwig were already so well connected. He missed her terribly but couldn't risk having her seen with him. Thinking about previous attacks, he decided to kept his old wand putting it in a secret pocket of his outer robe and placed the new wand in his recently purchased dragon hide wrist holster.

The exams would start at 8:00 A.M. beginning with the written and followed by each exams practical before moving on to the next subject. He had Charms first, followed by Herbology, History of Magic, Care of Magical Creatures and Astronomy. He hadn't planned to take the last three but decided since he was trying to earn his N.E.W.T.s he would take all the classes he thought he could pass. Lunch would begin at 1:30 P.M. He would have 45 minutes before beginning his Potions exam, followed by Transfiguration and ending with Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The exams would be scored as he completed them. He was fairly confident that he could pass each of these exams, spending the extra years on Circe's island allowed him to cover much more than if he had simply spent the single year with Cato at the Ministry's safe house.

All of his plans for the upcoming year at Hogwarts was going according to plan. The only hiccup in it would be if Dumbledore refused to allow him to attend Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. He was confident that the Minister would make the rest of his ideas reality, even if he had to force Dumbledore into compliance.

Harry thought he should feel bad for using the Minster to strong-arm Dumbledore but he somewhat surprisingly didn't. They were both master manipulators using others to achieve their aims, not that different really from Voldemort, but at least they were not trying to decimate Muggles and Muggleborns. All of their scheming was political. His Slytherin side was taking over more and more of his thinking as he used the same tactics as his allies and enemies to achieve his goals. While he might not be playing fair he wasn't trying to hurt anyone either so the ends justified the means.

He slept briefly after finalizing the next steps he would take. He only slept for five hours before waking refreshed and ready to face the exams ahead. He had always heard the seventh years complain about the tests and how exhausting they were but he was moving through them with a surprising speed. It was only ten after eleven and he was already finished with the morning exams except Astronomy. Since it was daylight he was placed in an enchanted room, much like the room Firenze taught in. The exam moved quickly and he was finished an hour ahead of schedule.

Since he had the extra time he grabbed lunch in the Leaky Cauldron, since he had the time he wandered around the alley for awhile observing many of his fellow students buying last minute items. He smiled, recognizing many of them.

Harry returned to take the rest of his exams. They passed a little slower than the ones he had taken that morning but were still somewhat easier than he had imagined. Rosaleen had showed up during the practical of the last one and they had a late dinner in the cafeteria of the Ministry. They discussed the test and how he thought he had done. It only took about two hours before the Minister himself brought Harry's results.

Harry ripped it open and was quite pleased to see he had received Outstanding in all of the core subjects as well as Care of Magical Creatures. He had received Exceeds Expectations in both History of Magic and Astronomy. While he had hoped to receive all O's his scores were about what he had expected.

"Congratulations Mister Potter."

"Did you manage to convince the examiners and the head of the Department of Mysteries?" Harry asked in reply.

"Yes. The exams will be recorded as being taken a few years ago and that immediately after you were apprenticed to the Department of Mysteries, no records are kept and the knowledge of who and what goes on there are known to only a few, so no one will question it."

"Did Dumbledore accept the funds and agree to the conditions?"

"Yes. Despite his reservations on accepting staff appointed by the Ministry he accepted them all and used this as a means of adding additional staff of his own choosing. Many are known members of his Order. It seems he too knows that Hogwarts is a major target and he seems to be adding protection by increasing the number of eyes and wands available should trouble come to the school."

"How did the Board of Governor's take it?"

"Quite well. Many of them were glad of the increase in both funding and staff. They have even added a few suggestions that I am taking under advisement and if at all feasible will begin implementing in the next few months."

"This is all excellent. Have you received the donations by Mister Black?"

The Minister laughed loudly.

"Indeed. He is most generous. Thank you. It was really something we needed."

Harry was glad to know that he had helped the Minster even though he was really using him as a way of protecting his friends in the Auror department by increasing their budget. His other donations were also well received and they had all already been put to good use.

After returning to his room he quickly fell asleep. When he awoke he was surprised to find that once again he had sleep for five dreamless hours and was just as refreshed as the night before. Since he had a busy day ahead of him he decided to get ready. Once he had finished getting dressed, he shrunk all his belongings and went downstairs for breakfast. It wasn't long until the others joined him. Rosaleen had even come early to wish him goodbye before returning to the Lycanthropy House.

The group disappeared and quickly reappeared in Hogsmeade. They made their way up to the castle and had entered the Great Hall just as Dumbledore finished his announcements to the staff. Harry noted that several seemed displeased with the changes being made but most quickly masked their reactions. Harry took a quick head count and noticed only Snape and Hagrid were missing.

"These must be our new Professors." Dumbledore greeted them and while he had been displeased with the Minister insisting on their arrival was more than welcoming.

"I will have a house-elf bring your luggage to your quarters. Lunch is about to be served, let us take this opportunity to get to know each other."

Harry found himself seated with a McGonagall on either side. While they were distantly related it seemed that they knew each other enough to speak easily but were not really all that familiar. Harry stayed quiet and observed the teachers that he usually only got to see in class. He was surprised by the easy banter and light teasing. It was strange to see them being so relaxed and familiar with each other. It reminded him that they were human, something that he had somewhat forgotten during his scheming.

After finishing his lunch, Harry excused himself with the pretense of learning his way around the castle. Before he could escape, Isabelle passed his a small book and took him to read it in private.

Harry quickly made his way to an unused classroom he had often favored last year when hiding from his friends. He sat on the window seat and examined the book. It had no title and he couldn't find an author's name. He opened it up and knew immediately why she had told him to read it alone. It was a book about Cambions.


	17. Chapter 17

Since he had a few hours before the train would arrive he decided to read what he could until then. Harry flipped through it realized that someone had collected all that was known about his kind from various sources and had written it all in this book. He was holding a Cambion field journal. Whoever wrote this probably spent a lifetime writing it.

_"Not much is known about Cambions, what little is known is mostly theory based on the few confirmed Cambions that have been studied and what can be pieced together from the legends of the Incubus. _

_Cambions are extremely rare, only a handful of recorded reports since they were discovered. They can be created in one of three ways. The most rare is when a Incubus and Succubus mate and produce offspring. This match is believed to be very rare because we have no record of a confirmed Cambion from this union. The second type is from a Incubi/Human combination. These unions occur the most often. Most of the confirmed Cambions come from this match. An Incubus can mate with a dozen or more females in a single night. However offspring are rarely conceived and few remain viable. The third way is a Succbi/human combination. This is also a rare combination with only one Cambion rumored to be the result of such a match, Merlin. _

_Succbi pregnancies are almost unheard of. Mostly because it often results in death before the mother can deliver__. __It is believed that only about 15 percent of those that carry their child to full term survive the birth and even then the offspring generally die within a short period._

_Since we know that Cambions come from Incubi/Succbi it is important to know that while these species are related, Cambions are quite different from their parents. I will begin my explanation by giving a summary of what has been learned and theorized about Incubi/Succbi._

_Incubi were originally classified as third level demons, believed to be able to interact with their environment but that their inability to sustain a corporeal form made them little better than Boggarts, however they were given a XXX level on the dangerous creature scale because of their ability to siphon energy from human and repeated exposure to their gifts could be fatal. _

_When it was discovered that they did indeed posses corporeal bodies and actively removed energy from their victims they were reclassified as second level demons and given the same XXXXX level as their cousins, the Dementors. Since both creatures feed on humans it was once thought that the same measures could be used against them. This is not the case. Dementors feed on positive emotions, leaving the negative ones to paralyze their victims and eventually consume their souls. They are inhibited by a Patronus, which if powerful enough will drive them away. Incubi feed off of a humans energy, and will not be bothered by a Patronus, though they may be capable of absorbing the spell and converting it to energy. So far this is unsubstantiated._

_It is believed that Incubi originally were very weak demons, they were passive life forms living off the energy they could collect off the creatures around them. It is believed that over time they learned which creatures give off the most energy and began to focus on humans as the population expanded. _

_While following the a lead on finding an Incubus, I ran into a group that might be mistaken from their female counterparts called Veela. They were a small group living in Southern France and the matriarch of the clan knew quite a bit about both Incubi/Succbi and their mysterious offspring. She herself had been acquainted with several of the species and gave me a great deal of the information I have recorded in this book. _

_The French call an orgasm "The Little Death" because they long ago believed that you die a little each time you reach climax. It is believed that Incubi focused on sexual energy because it provides them with two kinds of energy, kinetic and heat. Humans give off a tremendous burst of energy when they reach climax, Incubi are believed to have originally been drawn to the release in energy and later learned that they could produce this affect by copulating with their intended victims. When they are directly absorbing the energy they are able to convert it into a storable form and sustain themselves for a longer period of time._

_Incubi visit multiple females a night and take energy from each of them, usually small amounts and only visit them once, while Succubi are drawn to those who release the greatest amount of energy and tend to return to the same person over and over again. Unfortunately, both relationships are parasitic. While they don't intentionally try to harm their victim, they cause cell damage during feeding. Most deaths and major illnesses are attributed to Succubi because they tend to visit the same victim over and over. After a few nights the cells are so damaged that they are unable to repair themselves. _

_Early symptoms are often ignored, usually flu like or written off as stress. Symptoms included depression, fatigue, loss of appetite, decline in the immune system, delayed healing, nauseas, vomiting, impaired vision and dizziness. Since these symptoms are often not alarming the victim usually expires before they ever know something is wrong. Since Witches and Wizards tend to have more energy, and their magic gives them the ability to heal quicker than Muggles they sometimes last longer and are more successful in identifying Incubi as the source of their ailments."_

_"According to the __Malleus Maleficarum__, exorcism is one of the five ways to overcome the attacks of incubi, the others being __Sacramental__Confession__, the __Sign of the Cross__ (or recital of the __Angelic Salutation__), __moving__ the afflicted to another location, and by __excommunication__ of the attacking entity, "which is perhaps the same as exorcism."*_

_Four of these methods are not known to be very effective but are occasionally enough to drive the demon away from the area, the best course of action is to remove the victim as the demon can only follow the "scent" of their prey so far. Usually a person is safe to return after a month or so as the demon seldom stays in one place for more than a week. _

_Cambions are thought to be an evolutionary jump in the stages of development of the Incubi. They are much stronger and more adaptable than their parents. Maintaining a physical body except in times of extreme duress. It was once believed that __"At birth, Cambion infants have no pulse and no breath. This continues until the child is about seven years old, when it becomes increasingly difficult to differentiate one from a human. A cambion is usually devilishly cunning and angelically beautiful, able to persuade even the most strong-hearted individual to do his or her bidding."** _

_These rumors are mostly untrue. The best way to identify a infant Cambion is that unlike regular infants whose eyes are normally grey or blue at birth, lasting for months, Cambions are born with green eyes. In the infant stage it is the only identifying mark of their kind. _

_Since Cambions are born looking like humans, it is thought to be a defensive measure, making it difficult to identify them and increasing its odds of surviving to adulthood by allowing it to completely blend in. They remain in a completely human form until they reach adulthood. It is at this time that their powers begin to manifest and they take on some demonic characteristics. _

_Unlike Incubi, Cambions are awake and sometimes active during the day. It is thought to be uncomfortable for them to be in direct sunlight and because they are meant to be nocturnal they are rumored to remain inside during the day, especially when the sun is at its highest. These theories have been validated by both Incubi and Cambions. In addition, when If the Cambion is capable of finding willing donors, they are called a Symbiont, in exchange for energy the Cambion provides for the donor in a predetermined fashion, money, food, housing, etc._

_While Incubi must feed regularly from their human victims, Cambions are better adapted to sustaining themselves from the energy of non-human life forms, though this method is only viable in the short term. Wizarding researchers have found that Cambions tend to be drawn to areas with high levels of ambient energy. Merlin was rumored to divide his time between Avalon, Camelot and Stone Hinge because of the energy found in those places. _

_Arithmancers believe these places are significant not only to Wizards and Muggles but also to these creatures because they are places of power. Spells cast in a hundred miles of spiritual or historical significance are often more powerful than when cast elsewhere. _

_Once they reach adulthood Cambions are virtually immortal. They are unaffected by the usual methods of removing Incubi and Demons. The only known ways to kill a Cambion is by destroying its heart or using a Seal of Solomon. Even these measures must be used carefully and preferably when the creature is already injured. _

_Many other rumors and theories exist and I have included them in the next section but all are unproven._

Harry put the book down. It hadn't told him very much. He didn't know what he would be capable of but was somewhat relieved that his ability to soak up energy from nature would continue now that he wasn't on Circe's island. He hoped it would keep him from harming anyone.

Looking out the window he noticed the train pulling up. He started to make his way to the Great Hall, but on the way he was distracted by a strange feeling. He began to follow it, after going down several flights of stairs he realized he was heading towards the dungeons.

_*Taken from the Wiki page on Incubi_

_**Taken from the Wiki page on Cambion_


	18. Chapter 18

The students streamed into the Great hall and took their seats. Many were extremely interested in the additions to the staff table. After the sorting was finished and the students were full, Dumbledore slowly stood and began to make his first of the year announcements.

"Now that we are all full for this wonderful meal, I would like to begin this year with some very exciting news. The Ministry has increased our annual budget and with the backing of the Board of Governors, we now have several additional staff members and new courses."

The students were all completely silent. Even the usually disruptive Slytherins were paying rapt attention.

"I will begin with some of the new staff. Those with us tonight include Professor Grymm, he will be taking over N.E.W.T level Transfiguration. Healer Delacour and her apprentice Miss Argent, they will be teaching a new course in Mind healing and assisting Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing. "

He waited for the polite applause to settle down and the whispers about the new course to cease.

"It also gives me great pleasure to introduce your new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Unspeakable McGonagall. Who also has spent time as an Auror. His Apprentice Mr. Black, will be assisting with your lessons and will be taking over the extracurricular defense group started last year called the Defense Association or the D.A."

Several of the previous year's D.A. members began to share long looks.

"There are several other additions to our staff this year but they have not yet arrived. Some of the new courses will only be offered to N.E.W.T level students and others will be open to all who wish to attend. Notices will be sent as the times and dates become available."

Many of the students looked at each other in shock. Hogwarts was a school based on tradition, hardly anything had changed since it was opened. Many knew that such changes and doubling the staff were results of the war that was brewing. The smarter more perceptive students also realized that the increase of Professors meant that their school was a target.

Having been dismissed for bed the students began to make their way towards their houses. Most were commenting on the changes that would be taking place this year but a few were concerned with their missing house mate and friend and the original leader of the D.A.

Since Dumbledore had failed to make an announcement concerning his absence the Gryffindor Sixth years decided to wait for the next morning's announcements before speaking to their Head of House.

***In the Staff Room***

"I am surprised that the Board of Governors have allowed all these changes, considering they are the ones that are always so opposed to breaking tradition." Flitwick commented.

"They really had no choice. The Minister was quite adamant that these changes were not only needed but long overdue. They had an incentive to comply with his wishes because he increased our budget, it is almost five times what is was last year." McGonagall interjected.

"Are these new staff positions permanent?" Sprout asked.

"I think the positions are. I don't know about the current staff members though. Each have very lucrative and complex careers. I can't even imagine what convinced them to give up a year to teach." McGonagall replied.

"I am certain that at least one of them won't be back next year." Snape scathingly replied. "No relation of Black could possibly be fit to teach."

"Well if the isn't the Cauldron calling the Goblet black." Grymm said from the door.

"Boys. Please, let us begin this meeting." Dumbledore once again stepped between the two.

Once all the staff were in their seats and the new staff members had crowded around with their various refreshments in hand, Dumbledore began to outline the new year that was taking place at Hogwarts.

"It has been decided that in order to increase academic achievement and to allow a more individualized approach to those who show aptitude for certain subjects that all of the core classes and several of the electives will now be divided between two Professors. "

"What do you mean Albus?" Pomona asked.

"Well you see my Dear, for many years , we have had a single staff member teaching the course in which they have received their Masters. While all the students have benefitted from this, those who were truly talented with the subject were held back because they were forced to go at the same rate as their peers. With the new staff in place, there is less work for each staff member and those who would benefit from either advanced or remedial tutoring will now be able to have it."

"So those who are gifted may have extra help?" Pomona asked.

"Yes. Let's say Mister Longbottom was particularly gifted at Herbology but was somewhat behind in Potions, he would now have access to advanced teaching in Herbology and could have remedial Potions to bring him up to speed.

Snape sneered but was silenced by Dumbledore's glare.

"How will we decide who teaches what?" McGonagall said, while carefully considering Grymm.

"Well depending on the class and Professors. I would recommend that Professor Snape take over advanced Potions, since he is a Master, his co-Professor is Hestia Jones who will take over the younger years. Once students pass their OWLS they will move into the advanced class. In your case, Professor McGonagall you will be teaching the younger students and Professor Grymm will be taking over the advanced class. I'll write out the new assignments and we will move through them one class at a time."

"To begin with the easiest: Astronomy, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Divination, and Muggle studies will remain unchanged at this time. In History of Magic Elphias Dodge will be taking over, I have decided to retire Professor Binns. "

Many of the staff was surprised by this announcement, Binns had been teaching for longer than any of them could remember.

"Hagrid will still be teaching Care of Magical Creatures but because of the many trips he will be making to parlay with the Giants, he will now be assisted by Charles Weasley. Mister Weasley will not be here for a few more weeks, he is finishing this year's hatchlings before joining our staff. I have already covered Potions, Defense and Transfiguration, what is left?"

"Charms, Herbology, new courses…?"

"Quite right. Advance Charms will be taught by Auror Tonks, Flitwick will teach the younger years and hopefully be persuaded to assist in the new D.A.?"

"Of course, I would be delighted to assist Mister Black."

"Pomona will be covering Fifth-Seventh years, with Emmeline Vance taking over First years through Fourth. As for our new classes, Mister William Weasley will be teaching Introduction to Curse Breaking and Warding to anyone who has received an E or better on their Charms OWL. Healer Delacour, in addition to teaching Mind healing to those in Poppy's advance Healing class, she will also be offering an class on Ancient Magic, student admitted to this class must have at least an E in all core subjects. It is also my pleasure to announce we will have another Delacour on staff this year. Many of you may remember her from the Twiwizard tournament, Miss Fleur Delacour will be here to teach a new course offered to everyone on Wizarding customs."

The staff murmured quietly to each other for a few moments before it was agreed that at the moment the schedule was acceptable and they began to retire to their rooms.

Seeing the perfect opportunity, Harry called to several of the staff that appeared to be ready to leave. Two staff members were already waiting to speak to Harry.

"Professor Snape, McGonagall, Flitwick, Healer Poppy?"

All of them stopped whatever they were doing and once again sat down at the insistence of their new colleague.

"As you may know I have already taken and passed my NEWTS for most of the subjects offered at this school. However, I still need to study Ancient Runes and Arithmancy." Those Professors nodded and feeling that he was being well received he continued. "However, I feel I would greatly benefit from being able to work with Masters. If each of you would be willing, I will accept any of the time you are willing to spare for extra training in each of your fields."

"I have no problem teaching you, as I told your Master, come to my advanced class and I will catch you up if you are behind and work with you privately if you are ahead." Vector smiled pleasantly.

"That goes for me as well." Babbling added.

"I will have some free time I am willing to donate, but it will have to be around my regular classes and Head of House duties." Flitwick smiled and glanced at both McGonagall and Snape.

"I too will have some extra time. We will discuss scheduling times tomorrow." McGonagall was now also watching Snape.

He glanced around at the expectant faces of his coworkers before deeply sighing.

"I am extremely busy with classes, Head of House duties, and Master level potions brewing. I will be willing to observe you during my advance classes, making potions of my choosing. Should you prove yourself capable and willing to brew properly, I will consider giving up my free time."

With that he swept from the room.

"Wow. That was almost nice." Pomona said, snickering slightly.

"I heard of his reputation, I think that was downright pleasant." Harry replied.


	19. Chapter 19

Harry spend the next few hours going over the schedule he knew he had.

Monday-Wednesday-Friday mornings- Defense Against the Dark Arts, Healing

Lunch

Monday-Wednesday afternoons- Double Advance Defense Against the Dark Arts, Wizarding Customs

Tuesday-Thursday Mornings- Advance Potion Making, Healing

Tuesday-Thursday Afternoons- Ancient Runes, Arithmancy

He would technically have double potions because Snape wanted him free to attend both his advanced classes. Flitwick had given him Monday and Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons. McGonagall had also been generous and had allowed him Wednesday evenings and Saturdays. He could attend Bill's class on Friday afternoons before meeting Flitwick. This still left him Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Sunday morning to work with leaning Mind magic, Healing and the Ancient Magic with Isabelle.

He would be extremely busy and it would be difficult to find time to grade papers and attend all the extra lessons he wanted to without losing too much sleep but it would be well worth it if it helped him survive.

He had felt strangely invigorated since returning to the school. He felt as if he was always on a Pepper-up potion. He wondered if he was siphoning off the school and whether it would do any damage to the wards surrounding Hogwarts. That would be the first thing he looked up tomorrow in the Library.

He finished unpacking his room and altering it to fit his personality, when he was finished he was surprised how much it looked like his room at Circe's. The only thing different was he had changed the colors to a light celery green, it was not only calm but light and airy. He liked this color much more than the Slytherin green it had been before.

Professor McGonagall sat at her desk going over a few start of term papers before she headed off to breakfast to pass out the schedules for this year. She had almost finished when several of her Gryffindor came in with one lone Ravenclaw.

Hermione Granger moved to the front of the group and appeared to be the spokesperson.

"Professor? We were curious as to where Harry was? He wasn't on the train and he didn't sleep in the dorms last night."

"Mr. Potter is currently in a secluded location, receiving special training. He is perfectly safe and will rejoin us when his training is complete."

"But, Professor?"

"You all should hurry along to breakfast. Classes will be starting soon."

The students slowly walked out of the classroom, followed by Professor McGonagall's worried eyes.

She hoped what she had told her lions was true.

The first few weeks of term flew by. Harry was making great progress in all of his studies and believed that he would be ready to take his OWLs by Christmas in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. If he worked hard enough he might be able to take his NEWTs a few months later and move onto the Mastery material.

The only place he was having trouble was Potions. He wasn't really surprised, he always found Snape difficult but the problem was no longer Snape's attitude towards him but rather his unwillingness to challenge him. He was having him brew NEWT level potions, Harry had completed each one to Snape's satisfaction but he continued to have to brew potions from the student's textbook.

Today he was working on Amortensia. He had brewed it before under Circe's watchful eyes and knew he could brew it perfectly. He was waiting for it to simmer for seventeen minutes and casually listening to the student's conversations around him. It had taken him several minutes to realize that he was in the 6th year class and that he was surrounded by Gryffindor/Slytherin pairs.

Snape was starting the torture early this year it seemed. Ron was paired with Malfoy, it was already apparent the class wasn't going well and they were only twenty minutes into it. Malfoy and Ron were quietly arguing and both of their faces were beginning to turn red. Finally Ron went off to get some ingredients from the storeroom and Harry turned back to his potion.

Harry was just finishing storing his potion when he heard a scuffling sound behind him. He turned just in time to get a face full of a golden powder as Ron tripped over Goyle's foot. Harry stumbled backwards into his table and began sneezing violently.

He felt dizzy and couldn't seem to see properly. He felt someone kneel down beside him and gently lift him up. They moved into another room and he felt someone put their wand to his face. He tensed slightly before water began rushing into his eyes.

"I take it you didn't know your kind was allergic to Blessing seed?"

"What?"

"The ingredient that is currently filling up your eyes and sinuses is a powered form of Blessing seed. The only thing that is allergic to Blessing seed is creatures and humanoid beings of demonic origin."

Harry opened his eyes to see his slightly blurry Potions Professor.

"Green eyes." Snape murmured. "I had a friend like you in school, eyes just like yours. I am afraid your glamour has failed. It will be awhile before you can reapply it without damaging your eyes."

"Thanks. Do you mind if we don't tell anyone about me?"

"As long as you don't apply your "charms" to any of the students, I think we can keep it to ourselves. Do you have symbionts?"

"Symbionts?"

"Person's who allow you to drain energy in return for money or other favors." Snape gave him a look to imply what favors were usually rendered. "Since you are clueless, I will assume you are relatively young and not quite fully developed?"

"My powers have only manifested in the last few years, and so far all I have needed to do is siphon off the local flora. I also think I have been borrowing from the castle."

"It will help. My friend lived off of the castle for several months before she needed Symbionts. I think you should look into it. Maybe another Professor or even someone in the local village. A few times a week, plus what you borrow from the castle should be enough to sustain you without draining to much from a single source."

"Thanks for all of your advice. I will start looking immediately."

"If you need any help I can provide a few potions to help you and anyone you find along until you have enough to sustain you."

"Thanks Professor."

"I also think that to help you conceal your nature and help to reduce the chances of this getting out, it might be better for you to join me during my morning potion brewing. I get up at five a.m. every morning and brew my private potions, be here promptly at five, and we will begin more advance potion making. "

"I will be here Sir. Thank you."

Harry left in a daze. To join Snape for his private brewing would mean he would finally be brewing more advance potions. Plus not having to go to the advance classes would give him more time to study and practice his new skills.

He went to the infirmary. He wanted Isabelle to check out his eyes and ask them about Symbionts.

He went in and after having his eyes flushed again and being fussed over he explained what Snape had told him.

"I don't think I have heard the term Symbiont before but I do understand what he is trying to express. You can basically consume the energy of another and them compensate them. I know that Veela sometimes used something similar, they have several males that basically live with them full time to service their needs, most are paid but many would do it for free just to be able to be with a Veela. It would be a good idea if you could use friends to borrow energy from as they would be more likely to understand."

"The only friends I have are those who know who I really am."

"I will become a Symbiont, as a Veela, I already possess more energy and magic than most you could find and I would happily donate. If you would be willing to fund some of the pet projects."

"The medical ones you are always talking about?"

"Yes, I have many ideas to improve magical medicine but lack the funds to research them. "

"I would be happy too. How do you want to do this?"

"Since you are so busy how about during your two free evenings. That will leave you plenty of time for your work and I don't have to worry about being drained too much. I will try to ramp up my allure without causing any issues with the student so I can absorb a bit more "special" energy."

"Thanks. I'll see you guys later."

As Harry walked out of the Infirmary, he wondered what kind if "special" energy she absorbed every day. The longer he thought about it, the less he wanted to know.


	20. Chapter 20

**It has been brought to my attention that Rosaleen is not Sirius' Great Aunt, but his Cousin...she is his mother's cousin, and is five years younger than Wulburga. She was not named for a star or constellation, this is DELIBERATE, as her Grandfather was disowned by the Black family and broke with all of their traditions.**

Harry's life was speeding past him and yet was at a standstill. His lessons were going well. Since Snape had allowed him to join him for private brewing he had more time to study and was not only studying past OWL level in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes but was quickly approaching Master level in Charms and Transfiguration. Both Flitwick and McGonagall were branching out and teaching him more obscure spells. He would be able to apply for his license over the Spring holiday.

While he was excited to have come so far in the favorite subjects of his parents, he was still lacking in several other aspects. He had made leaps and bounds in dueling, able to hold off several attackers for more than an hour, he was individually out dueling all of his teachers, but it still wasn't enough.

While they pushed him to his limits, none of the Professors were trying to kill him, not even Snape. Snape was a wickedly fast dueler using both obscure spells and the environment to his advantage. He had taught Harry almost as much as Cato had, but Voldemort was better than all of them and Harry couldn't see past his resentment to go to Dumbledore. He knew eventually he would be forced to seek the old man's assistance but he was putting it off for as long as possible.

He was also putting off his effort for the war. He hadn't been in a single life or death battle since the Department of Mysteries. He wasn't looking for a fight but felt that he should be doing more than fight training and grading papers.

His brooding was interrupted by the Sixth year class coming in. Since it was smaller than the OWL class, all the houses were attending together. This doubled the amount of DADA classes they had in a year but would also allow them to learn more.

Cato was absent today, He had gone to the Ministry on top secret business, so Harry was teaching the class alone today.

He looked over his classmates and wondered how many of them would survive the war, how many would be looking out through masks and trying to kill the unmasked ones and vice versa.

"Hogwarts is one of the top three targets of Voldemort."

The entire class flinched, even the ones Harry was certain would be in masks.

"Why do you flinch? Are you frightened of Voldemort?"

Several weak voices replied "Yes."

"I have seen the lesson plans and know several of the teachers that have taught this course over the last several years…" He gave them all a long look. "You are not nearly frightened enough."

This statement was met by a few nervous giggles.

"No matter which side of this war you stand on, it is still a war. Many of you will be fighting in it. Not from behind a desk, but on the front lines. You will literately be putting your life on the line to fight for what you believe in. Many of you will die for this man, who calls himself Voldemort, and no matter which side you take, your life will be put on the line for his madness. " He looked into their wide eyes.

"Make no mistake, he is completely mad. Mad for power, Mad with hatred, Mad for blood. He doesn't just hate the mudbloods, he hates the purebloods too."

Several of the Slytherins looked outrages and ready to protest.

"I am sure many of you believe that he is pro-pureblood. He speaks out for Pureblood supremacy. The truth is that he is a half-blood, and hates us all. He uses the Pureblood agenda to kill all those he deems unworthy, sure he is starting with the muggleborns and those labeled blood traitors, but just as many purebloods have been killed. Whole Pure-blooded families have been completely wiped out in his name. Both those for and against him."

"Take for instance my family. Most of the Black family have supported Voldemort since he began his bloody cleansing. Several of the males have given their lives for him. My cousin Regulus was a faithful supporter but he was killed on Voldemort's orders or by his own hand because he failed the Dark Lord in some way. Perhaps he learned what I know. Voldemort doesn't care for his followers, if they live or die means nothing to him as long as he gets what he wants. Once all the Blood traitors and Muggleborns are gone he will turn on those who were neutral. Until only his side remains, they will eventually die out. Voldemort will either kill them or they will die out due to inbreeding. "

"Check out Hitler, and other Dictators in the history books. What he is doing isn't new and he isn't doing it to help anyone. He had no real goals. He just wants to watch the world burn."

Harry sat down. Surprised by his long winded speech about Voldemort, it had taken up almost the entire period. The students were sitting completely still, just staring up at him.

"Write twelve inches on other Dark Lords or Dictators. Write about their goals, ideals, means of obtaining said goals and how many successfully delivered on their promises."

As the class scurried out, Harry wondered if a few thought provoking assignments and speeches could overcome a lifetime of teachings. He hoped to save some of them from walking the path too many other had followed only to meet with an untimely death.

In his distracted state, he missed his door opening and closing by itself.

***Later, In the Library***

Harry was hiding in a secluded corner of the Restricted section when he heard the voices of several Sixth years discussing the assignment. It was a mixed group, sitting at different tables divided mostly by house but all were discussing it quietly as to not bring them to Madame Pince's attention.

They differed on their views of his speech but he was encouraged just to see almost the entire year gathered together and actually speaking to each other without curses being thrown, though he would be keeping an eye on them.

"He set a similar assignment to our class, but we are discussing how different laws and policies allow for people like the Dark Lord to come to power. I am discussing how laws against werewolves are the leading cause of them joining the dark side, with both Grindelwald and Voldemort. They joined because they were promised equal rights. If they had equal rights maybe they would be neutral or fight for the good guys." Ginny said as she pulled her books out of her bag, next to Hermione.

"I am writing a similar paper about Vampires and Dementors. They often join the dark side so they can feed unrestricted. I found a neat book talking about ways to make feeding easier for Vampires so they will be less dependent on human blood, it is like a synthetic blood. There is a few pages about werewolves would you like to look at it?" Astoria asked Ginny. She quickly agreed and the two girls sat down at an empty table together, sharing the book.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he watched. If they could get along, maybe saving them wouldn't be as hard as he had imagined, especially if he had some help. He needed to find other ways to bring the students together, even if it was only for a short period of time. It was moments like this that he hated the founders for their lack of foresight in creating ways to divide the students.

The air currents around his table created a trail of goose bumps down his arms and made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He used all of his senses to feel for a hidden presence but was unable to locate a single signal of any kind to life anywhere near him. Even knowing he was alone didn't help his sense of unease, so he slowly gathered his books and headed back to his office to think of how to tackle his next set of challenges. He had decided to begin his part of the war effort in earnest, the only thing left to decide was how to carry out the very awful and wonderful idea circling around in his head.


	21. Chapter 21

Author's Note: Several Quotes in the Paper, can anyone tell me where they come from? Cookie to the Winners. They are marked "-")

_Unexplainable deaths of Unknown Death Eaters_

_In this Special Edition of the Daily Profit we bring you exclusive never before reported news of a counted strike against You-Know-Who. In what has been a unexplainable turn of events. The Aurors have been called out several times over the last few weeks to examine the bodies of previously unknown and unsuspected Death Eaters. Originally thought to be the work of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, when Investigators discovered the Dark Mark on each victim, it is now believed the deaths are connected through a different source and the work of witches and wizards unknown._

_Each body has been found seemingly peacefully asleep in their beds. No signs of forced entry, no signs of a struggle, and quite baffling, no apparent cause of death. Each would have been written off as natural causes except for the Dark Mark clearly being displayed and a typed message left at each crime scene. _

_Aurors are searching for the culprit or culprits but so far have no leads._

_Messages Left by Murders_

Victim: Rowle, Thorfinn. Quality Quidditch Supplies Clerk. September 15. Suspected Death-Eater.

"The outcome of chaos can never be predicted. The only certainty it brings is the devastation it leaves in its wake. The best way to fight chaos is with chaos."

Victim: Gibbon, Elias. Worked as an Apothecary's Assistant. September 19. Previously unknown Death-Eater.

"In every life there comes a day of reckoning."

Victim 3: Yaxley, Lysander. A well known, high ranking Ministry employee. Found early September 25. Previously unknown Death-Eater.

"To carry a secret is to play with fire. Try to pass it on and you risk hurting someone else. Hold on to it and eventually you'll get burned."

Victim 4 & 5: Carrow, Alecto and Amycus. Little is known. September 31. Suspected Death-Eaters, they disappeared after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was defeated by Harry Potter.

To the People of the Wizarding World:

I am going to tell you a story. A story about Sacrifice and Revenge. During the First war, V-. (Name removed from original copy by Editor)and his Death Eaters sacrificed many in their quest for power. For many, after V-'s defeat they were willing to turn the other cheek, forgive the small players and punish those who refused to conform in the new order. They committed to the ideals of the "Light Side." Harry Potter had banished the Dark Lord and many were content in their faith in him, in Dumbledore, and in the Ministry, to keep the darkness at bay.

"For some, commitment is like faith. A chosen devotion to another person or an intangible ideal. But for me, commitment has a shadow side, a darker drive that constantly asks the question, 'How far am I willing to go?"

The Answer is VERY. The System has failed us, again. When the system fails us, we must go out and seek our own justice. This is but the beginning of mine. This is my purpose in life, a fate that V- and his followers chose for me when they killed my family.

"But to believe that a life is meant for a single purpose, one must also believe in a common fate. Father to daughter, brother to sister, mother to child. Blood ties can be as unyielding as they are eternal. But it is our bonds of choice that truly light the road we travel. Love versus hatred. Loyalty against betrayal." To those of you who have chosen, make sure your choice is one you can live with. For those of you who have not chosen examine closely your reasons for each side… Bonds of Blood or Bonds of Choice. Whatever way you decide will lead you to your true destiny.

"And a person's true destiny can only be revealed at the end of his journey, and the story I have to tell is far from over."

The Great Hall was totally silent after reading the paper. Five Death Eaters were dead. Some were the only surviving members of their family. Some were Purebloods, some hands of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named but they all knew he was responsible, for them to be totally clueless was almost more frightening than knowing it was Death-eaters and their master.

Is it better to deal with the devil you know or the one you do not… Many of the occupants in the room were looking towards the staff table. Many were divided between looking at their elderly Headmaster, or the man they all suspected, or in some cases knew, answered to the Dark Lord.

There was a small group of students, particularly those that had been chatting in the library a few weeks ago were looking at each other and occasionally their part time Defense against the Dark Arts professor.

Harry was very aware of the eyes on him, and whose they belonged to. He covertly checked the expressions on each, and was pleased to see how many looked to him with a bit of faith. Hopefully that faith was earned and they would choose not to follow the dark paths their families had chosen.

He had hoped that it would have been out of the papers for longer but he was glad to see that the Profit was willing to print the messages he had left, a little hints he hoped to use to inspire fear in the Death-eaters and hopefully cause them to make mistakes. He had worried the notes were a little too bit serial killer M.O. but couldn't resist a little dig against those who had enjoyed inflicting so much fear, torture and pain on others.

Harry had discussed with Isobel in great length the fear he felt about trading pieces of his soul, for vengeance or revenge. He guessed the choice between Vengeance and Revenge would be how badly he felt about it afterwards, so far, the crimes of those he had killed were so heinous that he couldn't believe they had lived so long without others knowing how rabid they really were.

If the lesser Death-eaters were so horrible, what would the crimes of the Inner circle be?

Harry suppressed a shiver of revulsion at taking in their energy, their depravity felt like a stain on his soul. It took several days for siphon enough energy to no longer have the bitter taste of bile in the back of his throat. It wasn't until after Yaxley that Arsinoe had come to assist him and he found out that her energy was like sunshine to their darkness and could wash it away.

It made him feel better to no longer feel their "taste" as he had come to think of it but at the same time he wondered if he should have to feel it in penance of ending their lives. They were putrid and retched creatures but he had been judge, jury, and executioner.

He had struggled with it the most the first time, but with each kill it got easier and he felt more and more that despite his displeasure at becoming a murderer it was safer than running the risk that they would escape or be able to harm someone else later because Harry was squeamish about putting them down.

Every time Harry had returned from a "mission," Dobby would be there to greet him, and Winky would go get Arsinoe. The four of them would stay together until the darkness faded and then they would all curl into Harry's bed and sleep for as long as they could.

Only after Harry was in control again would they emerge from his suite and go back to their regular schedules. Harry was satisfied that the Death-eaters in the new prison wouldn't escape, but both Bellatrix and Lucius had escaped. Bellatrix with Voldemort, and Lucius as Fudge's final act as Minister.

He had to do something else with them, he couldn't stand the thought of absorbing anything from them, he would have to do something less personal but still enough to strike fear into the other members of the Inner circle.

He would go after Lucius first, since he already knew exactly where he was.


	22. Chapter 22

While deciding what to do about Lucius and Bellatrix he had Dobby pop him down to talk to the Death Eaters that were being held in the secure location.

Avery, Crabbe, Dolohov, Jugson, The Lestrange brothers, Macnair, Mulciber, Nott and Rookwood.

Someone had a sense of humor, they were put into alphabetical order and each had a pink and yellow nameplate. Harry had expected dark and dreary cells but instead found each filled with crazy colors and hand knitted items scattered around. It all looked vaguely familiar, then it struck Harry.

Dobby had been decorating while he cleaned the cells, and fed the prisoners. He would have to buy him some extra crazy socks for Christmas, and maybe a beanie or two. Harry would even have them custom made with holes for his ears.

Chuckling to himself he made his way through them. He used the spells taught to him by Cato and several ancients potions taught to him by Circe, to learn all he could from each Death Eater without leaving any physical trace and without alerting the Death Eaters that they were being thoroughly mind scanned.

He was extremely disappointed when he had finished. Even though many of these men had been following Voldemort for years, they knew very little about him. They did what he said, without thinking and even without reason. Some of them were half-bloods, why would they blindly follow a man set upon wiping them from the earth? It seemed that most of them joined because they had been promised into Voldemort's service by their fathers.

Apparently family loyalty was alive and well amongst the Pureblood and the wizarding world. Each of these men didn't even know exactly what their fathers had promised just that they serve and follow Voldemort until their deaths, and each must produce a male heir.

Interesting. Considering that several of these men had no children that Harry was aware of and of the Pureblood families he was certain followed Voldemort, several had only daughters.

Harry decided he would look into the backgrounds of the men more closely and find out if each had any children legitimate or not. As he wondered back towards the entrance where Dobby waited he wondered if there was any significance to a "male heir" other than passing on the family name.

Voldemort didn't strike him as a pedophile, or a homosexual. It was possible, he guessed but it wouldn't really make sense, he would have to wait for the Death Eaters to reproduce, males to be born and then for them to grow to the appropriate age, Voldemort desired. If he was just into boys or young boys wouldn't it have been easier to just abduct them and fulfill his desires? Yeah, it would be. So looking at it from a magical perspective, what would be the significance? Maybe males are more powerful. Maybe Voldemort wants only men in his service. That wouldn't explain Bellatrix and possibly the Malfoy matriarch, though Harry wasn't certain she was a D.E. Perhaps Bellatrix was the exception to the rule?

It would take research. Despite all the knowledge he had learned during these last few years, and how much he loved reading, he still didn't like researching. It often seemed a waste of time, especially when it didn't help him in the slightest. What he really needed was not a perspective on magic but one on people. He needed to know why Voldemort did the things he did. Harry fully believed what he had told his class. Voldemort did want to watch the world burn, he tortured because he enjoyed it.

Maybe it would be the key to defeating him. Harry wasn't sure Voldemort could be killed. They had searched everything lead they could find on how he survived the killing curse, why his spirit remained when his body had been destroyed. They couldn't find anything, even with ancient and modern texts, there was no hint on what could have saved him. No potion or spells that were known could tether the spirit to the earth for thirteen years.

Harry sighed. He had thought all these changes he had made would make everything easier. In a sense they had. He wasn't burdened with school and learning, because he now enjoyed it. He was finally satisfied with the way he looked, felt more confident in himself and his abilities. Most of the pain he had felt over the summer had been removed with reinventing himself and regaining his godfather. Even his sense of betrayal by his friends and the wizarding world had begun to fade.

Forgiving them had removed a great weight from his shoulders. Even if it was removed slowly, he could still feel the changes. After the mind healing sessions, he could finally let go of all the hidden hurts, and honestly believe that he had been left alone with the Dursleys because they believed he would be safe and happy. While he still distrusted them for never checking up on him and not seeing how underfed he was or for not noticing his oversized clothing when he arrived at Hogwarts, he had forgiven them.

Good people often cannot imagine the bad in others. Perhaps that is why so many good people seem to be blind to the evil that lurks all around them.

He was drawn from his musings by running straight into a black wall, in the form of his Potions Professor. He apologized quickly and was surprised to see a quick flash across the man's face, that could have been a smile.

"If you have a few moments, I would like to speak with you."

"Sure, my office is closer?"

"Lead the way."

Harry walked quickly towards his office, very aware of the man at his back. He didn't think Snape would attack him from behind but he wasn't a hundred percent either. He wondered if he was in some kind of trouble, could he even be in trouble as a Assistant Professor? He didn't have any potions brewing, so it couldn't be the extra lessons he had been taking.

Harry suddenly realized he was in front of his door. He unlocked it, offered the Professor a chair, and quickly performed the charms to make the conversation private, while summoning Winky and Dobby. One would bring refreshments, while the other remained hidden listening and ready to act should the reformed Death Eater attack.

"How can I help you, Professor Snape?"

"When you leave the castle and go to Hogsmeade, it might be best if you actually have people remember seeing you in Hogsmeade. The Aurors are not really looking but if your activities become to suspicious they might start investigating you and realize that you are behind all the Death Eater attacks.

Harry panicked on the inside while outwardly his expression didn't change. Had Snape followed him? How could he have figured it out and so quickly?

"If I understand you correctly. You think I am responsible for the mysterious unexplained Death Eater murders?"

"I don't think. I know. You forget that I know what you are. What you can do. I have met one of the people who trained you. I recognize in him the same careful movement and stillness that I often see when I look in the mirror. Plus after every…incident, you seem very ill the next week or so. Since I know you're not a werewolf, and the dates cannot be coincidence, hence you are the Death Eater Executioner. As the Prophet had begun to call you. A very nice ring to it, huh?"

Harry was silent. Staring at the man across from him. He thought he had been very careful. He even had several people who were willing to say he had been with them at the time of the attacks, should he ever need to defend himself, and yet Snape still could see through him. Snape was dangerous, of that he had no doubt, but was he a danger to Harry?

"I don't put a lot of stock into things printed in the Prophet."

"No. I guess you wouldn't. especially with all the lies it had printed about you since you were a child."

Harry felt every cell in his body freeze. Snape knew. Somehow he knew and if he knew, Dumbledore and Voldemort probably knew as well. Or they would as soon as Snape decided to tell them.

"I was relieved when I first heard you wouldn't be coming back this year. I felt a sense of satisfaction that you would hide, just like your father had been persuaded to do. Then I felt oddly disappointed. I was very good friends with your mother from a fairly early age. I knew immediately that she was brilliant. An intellectual with passion. Strong-willed but not stubborn. Compassionate but fierce. She was a beautiful person. She was also cunning and manipulative, she often kept your father out of trouble and he never even suspected she had tricked him into doing what she wanted. The ultimate Slytherin in red and gold. "

He paused. Taking in Harry's slightly incredulous expression. Again the almost smile made an appearance before disappearing.

"She would have been a Slytherin if not for her muggleborn status. She was my best friend. I was disappointed that you were not more like her. I felt vindicated in my dislike of you when you showed up looking exactly like my childhood rival, James. Following in his footsteps, and his house. It increased my hatred, I felt justified in my actions towards you and buried any feelings I might have had under the unpleasantness between us. I had secretly hoped you would be more like your mother, and since you were a half-blood, you would be sorted into Slytherin, so I could help protect you and better train you to face your enemies. I felt as if I had lost her again, once when you went into Gryffindor and again when you ran, instead of fighting."

He studied Harry for a moment, perhaps waiting for a response. When none was forthcoming he continued.

"I should have known she would surface in you eventually. I didn't think it would take this long, but I assume that when she cast that spell it hindered other parts of you that were hers as well as your…abilities."

"Did you know from the beginning?"

"No. I suspected at first that you were not who you claimed to be, but once I knew you were not a Death Eater, I let my suspicions go. I first started watching you in Potions. It might surprise you to know that Lily was brilliant at Potions, your lack of skills was another nail in the coffin, so to speak. But once the spell was removed, you took on some of your mother's grace, she had an very light almost dancelike way of moving. I began to notice some of her in your movements when you brewed. That is when my suspicions began again but it wasn't until after the blessing seed incident that I knew for sure. I mean what were the chances of a cambion coming to Hogwarts just as one was leaving. Once I knew what you were I could fill in most of the details on how events came to pass. I don't know if I got everything but I imagine I know enough."

"Did my mom confide in you a lot?"

"I think as much as she could. I know about Circe, and the island. A bit about Succubi and Cambions. We were friends, I will try to tell you all I can remember of our times together but I think we have more important things to discuss."

"Like how I am going to defeat Voldemort?"

"We will get to that eventually. I am more concerned with his supporters, two specifically at the moment. Bellatrix, because she is a rabid dog, but also because I think she possesses information that will be vital in the fight against Voldemort, and Lucius.

"I was planning on going after Lucius next."

"I agree that he should be next but I don't think he should be dealt with like the others."

"What did you have in mind?"


End file.
